


Here, there, and back again

by Black Dragon on the Rocks (animealam)



Series: Civil War, What Civil War? [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Genius Steve Rogers, Kid Steve Rogers, Rape/Non-con Elements, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Steve Rogers was much younger when he enlisted, Technopath Steve Rogers, Technopathy, not AOU compliant, technopath tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:22:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 104,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5185169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animealam/pseuds/Black%20Dragon%20on%20the%20Rocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Universe stared at the boy for what seemed an eternity to him, only to change into a decrepit, dirty alley, and that was the last thing Steve saw before loosing consciousness. The small frail boy banished in a flash of blue flames. </p><p>Follows the Avengers movie. Be warned VERY AU Young Time Travelling genius tech savvy Steve</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Summary:** The Universe stared at the boy for what seemed an eternity to him, only to change into a decrepit, dirty alley, and that was the last thing Steve saw before loosing consciousness. The small frail boy banished in a flash of blue flames. Be warned VERY AU Young Time Travelling genius tech savvy Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_  
>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces to some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.  
>  **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ **Completely totally AU** , _Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._  
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes._  
>  **Author's Note:** _I know I should not be posting another story when I have two on the way, and I'm stuck with one of them. But frankly I have a lot of plot bunnies lying around in my hard drive. Some have gotten so big they can no longer be called plot bunnies. At least ten of them over 20,000 words, or more (the largest apart from this one is slightly over 43,000) and still growing._  
>  _The only reason why I have not posted them is because I'm terrible at naming stories. I mean, I have one Harry Potter story (of way too many) which is over 100,000 words (it's been in my HD since before the Deathly Hollows came out) and I can't post it because I have not been able to name it. Really Untitled 055 tells no one anything about it._  
>  _Well, while I was bored waiting in line to do some stuff and going over one of the many unnamed stories I have, finally, FINALLY! I got a name for one. So here it is._  
>  _This began as an experiment that went a bit overboard. I had read a story about Tony being able to speak with tech (In AO3 it's called Technopath), and I thought it would be interesting if Steve was actually the one able to communicate with technology._  
>  _While still wondering about such a story, I read a couple of stories in which Steve was actually much younger when he enlisted. Then I can't deny liking the idea of_ Time Travel _a lot... And this story came to be._  
>  _The story grew, and kept growing, until it became something over 50,000 words just lying there in my hard drive. It's not yet finished, although I did get to finish the movie which is the first Arc. From there it's going to be even more AU than it already was_.  
>  **This chapter is mostly introductory, as I did not want to fully revisit all _Captain America: The First Avenger_.**  
>   
>  **Total words sans notes:** 3,636  
>   
>  _Keys:_  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_  
> 
> 
> * * *

## The beginning

It took him twenty minutes to hack his way into SHIELD's 'supposedly' heavily encrypted databases. Most of that time was due to his slow Internet connection; that a twelve year old with outdated tech hacked them said much about how 'secure' their information truly was. Not that he was an ordinary twelve year old, mind you, but still... those firewalls were ridiculously easy to bypass.

He let his search algorithm do its work. Normally he was not one to break into government agencies, as that spelled TROUBLE with all caps. But he had found an odd blue gem in a warehouse along with three dead people. The credentials of one identified him as a SHIELD agent.

Steve, the boy's name, knew he should not have been there at all. Not in winter and with his mile long list of illnesses and afflictions, but he got bored being cooped up all alone at home. The old warehouse had become a refuge since they moved back from Boston. He had a genius IQ, and last summer he had graduated from MIT with dual Masters.

He actually beat his hero, Tony Stark, who graduated at seventeen, although with a Ph.D. under his belt. It had been thanks to The Maria Stark Foundation that Steve had gotten a large enough grant to be home schooled, and be able to finance his college education. There had even been enough for his Ma and him to move to Boston and live frugally while he attended MIT.

The grant was nearly gone now, and despite his amazing credentials, he graduated from Computers and Philosophy, as well as Mechanical Engineering at eleven after all, Steve could not find a job. Surprisingly it was his health which was the objection, not his age. So his Ma had two jobs during the week, and one during weekends just to make ends meet.

The young boy was hoping to impress someone at SHIELD into hiring him when he returned the blue gem. But first Steve wanted to know if the people at SHIELD knew what it was, because, frankly, he was too curious about it. The small gem looked alien to him, but maybe it was just his over active imagination, hence his hacking into the spying agency for confirmation.

Steve stood up from his desk chair to check on the thermostat. It was getting very cold, and he rather not risk pneumonia again. It was awful, and they could ill afford another hospital stay. He frowned at the thermostat. The room should be warm and toasty, but it was not. It appeared to be working, still he should probably check it.

The young boy turned to look for his tool box and gaped. The blue gem was beginning to glow eerily. It illuminated his Iron Man and Captain America posters. His Ma always said he looked WAY too much like his hero, specially on the photos before the serum when he was a scrawny man. He was even named after him, Steven Grant, and his Dad's last name was Rogers.

The gem's light was becoming brighter when his search displayed a result. So he moved back to his desk, temperature forgotten for the time being. His search located a blue cube of unlimited energy known as the Tesseract. Some nut case Nazi scientist had used it during WWII to make weapons.

Johann Schmidt, was the name of the scientist. He was also known as the Red Skull, who had been actually the leader of HYDRA and Captain America's enemy to be precise. His hero had gone down with Schmidt's plane to save America from several bombs.

According to the information he was reading, the Tesseract was found in the Arctic Ocean's floor several years ago by Howard Stark, but they had not found either the Captain, or the HYDRA plane. Steve downloaded the information about the Cube, and erased all tracks of his 'visit'. He rather SHIELD did not discover he had been snooping around their mainframe. He truly did not fancy a visit from them, or the FBI's Cyber Crime Unit.

Steve turned off his desktop, thinking about making a sandwich for lunch, repairing the thermostat, checking why it was so cold, and a bit over the Cap's life. The last thought was the predominant one when Steve accidentally touched the glowing blue gem. Blue light surrounded him, and what could only be a portal opened in the middle of his bedroom.

The Universe stared at him for what seemed an eternity to the boy, only to change into a decrepit, dirty alley, and that was the last thing Steve saw before loosing consciousness. The small frail boy banished in a flash of blue flames.

* * *

## 1941 - 1945

Awakening in 1941 had been a shock worthy of a hospital stay. Thankfully he met James 'Bucky' Barnes, who at the time was already twenty-three. Bucky took pity of him, because Steve did not want to go to a hospital, even if he would probably die without treatment, and end in an orphanage.

So Bucky lied through his teeth, and convinced the doctors Steve was actually an adult of twenty-two. He kept him out of the orphanage. The older man had been orphaned when he was fifteen, and been separated from his younger sisters, so he knew from experience it was not a good place for someone with such a frail health as Steve's.

He had told his new friend and protector his real age not sure if he was messing too much with the time line. But after his invaluable assistance Steve did not want to lie to him. Besides, he was sure Bucky would not have believed he was eighteen, much less the twenty-two Steve Rogers was supposed to be. The doctors only believed him because Bucky swore they had grown up together since they were twelve.

Once he was out of the hospital Steve went to live with Bucky, and the little boy began planning how to get himself a valid identity and documents so he could 'exist' in the past. He also needed a background story, which was not that hard to get since he knew by heart Captain America's story... And Steve had come to the conclusion he was, or at least would be in a few years, the same person as his hero.

Steve had taken art classes while studying at MIT, so it was not all that hard to forge himself a fake birth certificate saying he was twenty-two. His feelings about it were ambivalent, for one Steve was proud of his work, it was, if he said so himself, very well done.

On the other side Steve felt bad, because he was doing something illegal. He was faking official documents, but Steve truly could not tell anyone he was a time traveller, not even Bucky. Of course he did not look twenty-two years old, but to anyone who asked Steve told them it was because of his ill health. Surprisingly everyone he met bought the excuse with no questions.

It was his luck that a few months before he arrived to the past there had been a fire in the Registry's Offices and many books had been lost. They were still getting people to present their documents to make new books. Steve simply presented his fake Birth Certificate, and that was it. Steven Grant Rogers existence in the past was properly documented and verifiable.

Besides the Birth Certificate, Steve also found a way to test out of High School. This could also be used as proof he was indeed older. From what he knew of the time it was extremely uncommon for anyone to test out before actually going through the required study years.

To support himself, and help Bucky with the expenses, Steve initially started doing odd jobs. Mostly he repaired electrical appliances and vehicles. He had always been very good with numbers too, so he also helped do the books for a few family businesses in the neighborhood.

Work wise Steve actually made a name for himself, and people started to not only seek him out when they had some appliance broken down, they recommended him to family, friends, and co-workers. Steve always knew what was wrong with the appliance because of his affinity with technology. Anything with a chip had talked to him back home.

In the past, the tech was not as advanced, but he still 'felt' things. Steve never told anyone about his 'gift', which he believed might be a mutation, not even his mother. Although he had investigated about mutants, and learned the X gene manifested in puberty.

Tech had 'spoken' to him since he could remember. In fact, he had ignored humans for a long while as a kid in favor of talking to tech. The doctors had told his mother he was autistic, which was later proven he was not.

It had not taken a genius, which he was, to realize He was the one destined to become Captain America. So Steve had to ensure he was selected for Project: Rebirth when the time came.

Meanwhile he had to live up to what was known of the Cap before the war. Not that it was much trouble, he did hate bullies, and was never one to back down. His knowledge of Tai Chi thankfully kept him from landing in the hospital most of the time. Although it did not save him from getting beat up if he did not get the bully fast, or there was more than one.

Tai Chi, along with Yoga were practically the only forms of exercise Steve had been able to practice because of his ill health. He was lucky Yoga was actually becoming a fad in certain circles in New York City, so he also earned a decent amount of money by teaching Yoga to Socialites. Bucky teased him about his... Pretzel like exercises, but did not complain, much, since it brought them good money.

Not all was good though. His many illnesses nearly killed him a couple of times because he did not have the proper meds. The medical field was not as advanced as it would be in the future. Steve lamented not paying attention to Biochemistry when he was still studying, the knowledge might have helped him to develop something to help ease his health problems.

What he did design was a much cheaper electric nebulizer, as well as a bulkier version of an inhaler. Both helped with his asthma immensely, although the meds available were not quite what he was used to.

Since inhalers had not existed before, and he did not know when they first came to be, Steve decided to patent it, as well as his much cheaper nebulizer. He supposed if it was meant to be he would be able to do it, if not, well someone else would come with the idea later. But in the meantime he would have something to help keep him alive.

The boy was surprised when he was granted the patent without any trouble. Then with luck on his side Steve managed to get a company interested in commercializing both his ideas. Contracts were drawn and he got a good sum of money for his invention, and he actually got a part time job in their labs.

The money from the contracts sure made life a little easier, and allowed him and Bucky to pay his ever accumulating medical debts. The inhaler and nebulizer opened the gates of his creativity, and Steve invented many things along with some he had already created back home. He patented everything.

A few of his inventions could only ever be produced in his future, once the tech had advanced that far. But he knew well what his destiny was, and Steve was not willing to let his technical knowledge be wasted.

It had taken Steve a lot of effort, and sacrifices to finish his schooling. To prove to everyone he could obtain his Master titles despite being so young, and having such a frail health. Steve was determined to leave his mark, and not just as a soldier. He knew some of his creations had been used and became common in the future.

Steve had been there to hear the news about Pearl Harbor, and Bucky had wanted to enlist as soon as the USA entered the war, but decided to wait because that winter Steve got very ill. He also waited the next year, and was finally drafted in February 1943. The army realized Bucky had potential as a sharp shooter and he got some extra training.

By the time he was drafted Bucky was confident Steve could survive on his own and everyone thought him to be an adult. So there was no risk of him ending in the orphanage. Bucky knew Steve had been stubbornly trying to enlist, and had been rejected due to his many health issues.

The older man was actually glad Steve was rejected. War was no place for a fourteen year old kid, specially one as ill as Steve usually got. Bucky tried his best to convince him to stop his attempts to become a soldier, and for a time he had thought he managed.

Bucky knew Steve was way too smart, frighteningly so. He was convinced his little brother in all but blood would contribute more to the war effort if he put that brain of his to work on designing better weapons or gear. In fact Steve had already done so, one of his helmet designs, and one for the radios where already being used.

When Bucky went to basic boot camp, Steve kept the small apartment where they lived. He worked for a couple of advertising agencies who liked his artwork, and they had been giving him a steady requests for illustrations. Plus he did some work for the Physicists at Columbia University, where Steve knew they were about to finally split the atom.

All things considered, Steve was very proud of what he had accomplished, and knew his mother would have been too. It did break his heart to know he was not going to see her again, to know he was not going to survive the war.

Steve tried to avoid thinking about his sacrifice for his country. He did not want to die, and if he could change things he would, but he rather not create a paradox and would do what he must in the end.

In his sparse free time, Steve had decided to learn as much as he could about tactics and strategy, as well as field medicine. He was sure going to need them. So he spent a lot of time in the library.

 _The World Exposition of Tomorrow_ came along, and he accepted the double date with Bucky. Which was more like he was acting as a chaperone. The Expo was very interesting, and let him know just what the people thought would be available in the future, and he compared it with what he knew was actually available in 2012.

As he had learned about Captain America's history, Steve tried to enlist four times before that time. He had changed his birth place and age, just to see if he could fool anyone. He was rejected for medical reasons, besides no one with eyes had believed he was anywhere near five feet eleven inches high, as he wrote in one of his forms.

He was surprisingly of average height for his real age of fourteen, but in the weight department was where there was trouble. Steve was way too skinny. At least twenty pounds underweight. He tried to keep a decent diet, but being ill often did not let him keep the weight. Still, the height along with the lack of pounds on him, gave Steve the scrawny look he needed.

At the Expo he tried again, and there was where he met Doctor Erskine. The rest was history, literally. What was never mentioned was the fact the good doctor knew Steve was not really the twenty-four year old he pretended to be. Although he never guessed exactly how old Steve really was.

The doctor believed him sixteen. Had he known his test subject was actually fourteen, Steve would have been rejected as candidate for the Super Soldier Serum. The doctor also knew his IQ was way above the norm, perhaps up par with Howard Stark's, but decided not to mention it since the serum was probably going to improve it.

* * *

War was an ugly thing, and Steve could not deny it terrified him. Any childish innocence he had was destroyed with his first insubordination act, the rescue of the 107th. He was forced to grow up fast because of what he saw, and what he had to do to rescue those men.

Steve had had to kill. Knowing the history, and what had to happen did not prepare him for when he actually had to do it. But he could not hesitate, he had to act and think later.

The young kid could not allow himself the time to freak out, or feel regret. His first priority was to get those men to safety, specially Bucky, whom he loved like an older brother, and to survive the ordeal.

Once he was back, and submitted himself for disciplinary action for going AWOL, Colonel Phillips waved it off. He was then transferred from the USO to the regular Army and the SSR's command.

Bucky had been grateful for the rescue, how could he not? But he was furious with Steve for allowing people to experiment on him, and not content with that, he had enlisted when he was not old enough to do it.

The row with Bucky was epic, and while somewhat private, a few people did learn the truth about Steve being a minor. Not that it was actually an unheard off occurrence, many youths had done the same. He was not the only one, and the Army had turned blind eyes on some cases. They were in desperate need of able men.

Colonel Phillips, and the Howling Commandos did find out, and agreed not to mention the subject again. They believed him sixteen, and Bucky did not disabuse them of that notion, even if he was not happy, he knew there was no turning back for Steve.

The Commandos even agreed to become part of Steve's team despite knowing he was much younger than them. They all owed him their lives and freedom after all, but their full respect only came after working with him on several missions.

Steve proved himself to his men, and commanding officer as a worthy leader, and a superb strategist. He always did have a plan, several actually, and learnt his people strengths so they could take advantage of them. He also knew their weaknesses and was able to include ways to compensate during missions. Each of his plans were executed with precision.

The Commandos actually forgot he was a kid most of the time, unless Jim, and Bucky decided it was time to lighten up the tension. His knowledge of science and mechanics made him an invaluable ally, so they always included him when planning a prank.

When not on missions Steve trained, as he had only received a token instruction while preparing for the Super Soldier Serum. He became a very good shot, and once he got the shield used his quick mind to calculate trajectories to make it ricochet against objects or people.

The shield became a very efficient, most of the times non lethal, weapon besides protection. He practiced with his shield every day without fail unless they were on a mission.

On the rare free time the Commandos had between missions, a few times due to injuries, it became a common occurrence to see Steve tinkering with the vehicles, the radios, a few tanks, and even a type writer or two. He was good at what he did, and the mechanics began seeking him out when they had vehicles they could not fix.

He became friends with Howard Stark, who was happy to find someone he could talk to about his projects, and who could actually understand what he was saying. Then there was Peggy, and oh boy, he had the mother of all crushes for her.

As time passed Steve came to the conclusion he could not change much, or anything really. Erskine's murder, Bucky's and his own deaths. He did the best he could to make everything worth it. He took as many HYDRA goons as possible, and gave his all to take down the Red Skull; although it was the Tesseract which did it in the end.

The Tesseract opened a portal much like the gem did when it sent Steve to the past. It disintegrated Schmidt before pulling his ashes into the immensity of space and closing the portal. Steve could not help but feel lucky it had not happened like that for him, and it allowed him to do good instead, even if he got separated from his only family.

His last act was speaking with Peggy and saying goodbye. It was not easy, but he had known nothing would come of his crush for her. He really was too young for Peggy, she needed an adult not a teenager posing as a man.

Contrary to what Steve had expected crashing the plane was not so difficult, perhaps because he had time to accept his fate. He had known, the moment he arrived in 1941, how he was going to die, and when.


	2. 2012

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_  
>  **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU, **Completely totally AU** , Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Rape, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._  
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes._  
>  **Author's Note:** _This one is a rather large chapter, and there are some triggers for rape. I did not make it descriptive, but it is mentioned. There is mention of under age drinking, the typical to know what it's all about._  
>  _This story was not as well received as my other ones, those I posted under the names alandrem, animealam, and in this account. I was a bit sad since I like this story a lot, and I think the other ones spoiled me. Still, I already have 15 chapters written, so I will keep posting it, and writing it. I'll probably go as far as Iron Man 3 and wrap it up there, but not really sure yet._  
>  **Total size without notes:** 6,226  
>  _ **Keys:**_  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## 2012

Surviving the crash was unexpected, and cause for concern. As a Captain America fan Steve had done intensive research on his hero. He had hacked SHIELD for any information they had on the Captain (because they had originally been the SSR), and even tried Stark Industries to find what Howard Stark had known.

He was not successful with the later because their security was astoundingly good, but he expected no less from Tony Stark. The man was a genius, and Steve had admired him even before he became Iron Man, for his intellect, not his partying ways.

The first had some mission information, medical reports, and mission reports. It was not as much as he thought there would be, since it seemed SHIELD had not yet digitalized all the files on the Captain, and maybe they had not plan to do it. Captain America was believed dead after all.

Some of the mission reports had been written by the Captain himself, and Steve had always been rather amused that his hero's handwriting was practically identical to his own. There had also been reports about the Captain's proficiency with a typewriter, many pointed out he was much faster and better than the regular secretaries.

Steve knew why that was now, what he did not find out was any information about him surviving the ice. So he was immediately suspicious. The Nazis or HYDRA (what remained of it) could have captured him.

He truly did not know the full effects of the Super Soldier Serum, not even Doctor Erskine had. He was murdered before they could perform tests. Steve had not been willing to allow anyone else to perform any kind of tests on him, beyond the blood and hair samples he had allowed them to take.

Steve had overheard some of the scientist discussing him, thanks to his enhanced sense of hearing, and he did not like what they planned to do to him. Frankly those people seemed to forget he was a human being, not an experimental object they could play with any way they wanted.

Thankfully Erskine had anticipated the fact the military might get the wrong idea, meaning they would think Steve belonged to them. Erskine had obtained documents signed by the top people in the army, and the president himself ensuring the basic rights as a human being of whoever was chosen for Project Rebirth.

Erskine's foresight was the reason he was able to refuse being shipped to Alamo Gordo to be experimented on after the doctor was murdered. Since they never tested the Super Soldier Serum, not even he knew the true extent of what the serum did to his body, so it could have well kept him alive in gelid waters until someone found the plane. The question was how long was he in the ice.

The baseball game on the radio added to his uneasiness. Perhaps it was lucky there was very little information on his life before Project Rebirth. Because whoever had him did not know he was a baseball fan, and he had perfect recall.

_He went to that game with Bucky in 1941. It was the first baseball game Steve ever attended at a stadium in both his lives, so it was noteworthy. The tickets for the game had been a thank you gift for Bucky, paid with some of the first money Steve earned in his life. He did odd jobs around the neighborhood, mostly repairing electrical things, and even a couple of cars._

_Bucky loved baseball, and took care of converting Steve into a fan of the sport. He had also wanted to show the older man how grateful he was Bucky took him in when he literally had no one, as well as for being his protector. For being the one lying to keep him out of the orphanage, for saving his hide from the fights he was always getting into, or rushing him to the hospital when his many illnesses had acted up._

Steve slowly sat up and took the room he was in doing his best not to be obvious. He had an analytical mind, and an eidetic memory even before the Super Soldier Serum. After they had become... more. Then there were his enhanced senses, and his affinity with technology.

He frowned slightly as his eyes scanned the area. The room looked 1940ish. An upscale private hospital room. He had seen a few of those during his time in the 1940s. Once he had been on the mend of his many illnesses, and or beatings, the nurses allowed him to wander the hospital halls. It helped with the boredom when he had no new reading material, and Bucky was working.

The room did look very similar to what he had seen before, but the smell was all wrong, as were the faint sounds he could hear. To begin with, there were none of the scents associated with a hospital, instead the scents were those of a large not often used air conditioned room, mixed with the way newly built rooms smelled. It was contradictory and set him on edge.

Never mind no hospital he had ever been to in both the past, and the future, would leave an unconscious patient fully clothed down to the boots on the bed. He was also on top of the blankets, another thing Steve knew was not done at hospitals.

Steve easily detected the five tiny cameras in the room. They were not well hidden, and he could see them. One was hidden in the ceiling fan, one on the painting by the door. Another was atop the window, the fourth was in another painting facing the window, and the last was on the wall facing the door. All were giving perfect room coverage, and they had mics as well.

The spying technology was very much like that of his time. They had chips, and they were chattering away with some monitors to which they were hooked to, as well as a couple of servers further away. Steve risked a query for the videos time stamp. 04-17-2012 17:31:29:02.

So back to the future was it?

The date was a couple of months after he disappeared though, so it explained why he had not known Captain America had been found. Steve was going to query the server again for more information, but a pretty brunette entered the room.

He heard the faintest shuffling of feet outside the room's door. Guards probably, it was hard not to react to the noise. But Steve rather not give his captors too much yet. Not until he was certain whether they were friendlies or not.

And really? Send in a Peggy look alike? That was... low. He still had his crush on her, to him it was only a day at the most since he said goodbye to Peggy, even if in reality it was around sixty-six years. Steve knew she was still alive, he found the information when he hacked SHIELD, but Peggy Carter was in her nineties now and in a retirement home suffering from Alzheimer.

Nothing would have come of that crush, and Steve had known it from the start, and resigned to it. She had been ten years older than him back in the past anyway. If Peggy had known his real age a lecture would have been the least of his problems. She would have probably boxed his ears, or shoot at him again.

Steve brought back his mind to the matters at hand. It was 2012, so there were no HYDRA, and no Nazis (there were a few trying to revive the ideals from what he remembered, but it was nothing like during WWII) to worry about. It did not necessarily mean he was safe.

After the war, many a government agency had wanted to dissect Captain America's body, if they could find it, to get the Super Soldier Serum's formula; and they would not have stopped trying if they got to him. That included the Army; although as far as Steve knew before he was sent back, no one had succeeded yet.

"Good morning," the woman said affably.

She was wearing the proper uniform for a woman in the army, except... There was no insignia for rank visible anywhere, and she should have been waring her jacket. The woman had no accent, so there was no certainty of him being in the USA... unfortunately even if he was on American soil, it was not too comforting a thought.

She took a look a her watch, then corrected, "or should I say afternoon?"

"Where am I?" Steve asked choosing to ignore the pleasantries.

Normally Steve was not rude, especially to women, as his mother did teach him manners, but the movements outside were setting him more on edge than he already was.

"You are in a recovery room in New York City," she responded softly. Steve frowned, it did not sound like a lie, but was probably not the whole truth.

"Where am I really?" He demanded in his Captain voice, the one he used to reprimand soldiers. He was not bothering to hide his suspicion.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," the woman said nervously.

_'Is she expecting me to be all nice and polite in what amounts to me as a possible hostile situation? Seriously?'_ He thought.

"The game," Steve stressed. "It's from May 1941. I know because I was there." He pointed out and stood up taking advantage of his six feet two inches height, and heavier constitution, to look menacing. "So I am going to ask again, where am I?"

"Captain Rogers..." she began.

"Who are you?" Steve demanded harshly.

Normally all medical personnel dealing with him, or any of the Commandos had to introduce themselves, then report their location before they even attempted to approach any member of his team, himself included.

All of them tended to react violently if they did not know where they were, and who had them. It had been something medical personnel had learned the hard way, and which had become standard protocol when dealing with the Howling Commandos and Captain America.

His men had all been held prisoner by HYDRA for more than a few days, and even he had been captured more than a couple of times. The Commandos had rescued him, and Steve had never been in HYDRA's clutches for more than a few days. It did not mean he had not been tortured for information while in their power.

His demands clearly unsettled the woman, which really should not unless there were things to hide. He had not asked anything unreasonable. Steve was keeping all his senses alert, and heard the woman activate the electronic panic button she carried concealed. No sooner had she pressed the button ,,than the door opened, and two men in black TAC uniforms entered.

The uniforms had no markings to identify the agency they worked for, and had he truly been from the past Steve would have confused them with HYDRA. The uniforms were similar, especially the fact they were black. The two men were clearly sent to subdue him, and Steve chose not to cooperate.

It took no effort to send the men through one of the flimsy walls, and follow through. Steve located the door, and made his way out. The woman stepped out of what was clearly some sort of set, and called through the sound system.

"All agents code 13! Repeat, all agents code 13!"

Whoever had him, was treating him like a prisoner, or a criminal, since he did not fall for their rouse. So it made Steve's need to escape greater. He did not want to find out whatever designs those people had in stock for him

The room where they had kept him was thankfully on the ground floor, and as he came out he could see the street outside through the floor to ceiling windows. He had the advantage on the many suited agents wandering about in the lobby, so after pushing some out of his way, Steve dashed through the glass doors to the street.

He had no idea where he was, but as his eyes scanned his surroundings, Steve came to the conclusion he was certainly in a major English speaking city judging by the advertisements. The vehicles around him looked familiar as well, which confirmed the videos time stamps, as did the loud mental noise all those gadgets around him made.

Steve had gotten used to the quiet in the past, and he flinched at how loud everything was, but he did not stop. His mental shields came up automatically to protect him, and Steve was relieved to note he had not forgotten how to protect his mind. He sped following the street.

As he ran the cars' license plates told him where he was. The state of New York, and there was only one city with so many skyscrapers in the state. Steve would need to find exactly where he was, and start making a plan of escape, as his outdated military khaki trousers and white t-shirt made him stand out like a sore thumb.

Steve would need to get clothes which allowed him to blend in, perhaps a cap, clear glasses, and money. Only then he might be able to attempt to go home, or at least try to contact his mother. She probably thought him dead by then, and he could not let her believe that when he was alive.

His escape was cut short when he reached Times Square. There he was surrounded by sleek, black, SUVs. From them descended... Agents he supposed. Some wearing suits, others TAC uniforms. Steve was still analyzing possible escape routes when someone addressed him.

"At ease soldier." A dark man with a trench coat and an eye patch spoke. Steve pinned him with a glare. "Look, I'm sorry about the show back there, but we thought it better to break it up to you slowly."

_'Really? You people weren't planning on making me feel like the enemy captured me? Did you not think dressing your goons in a similar fashion as those of HYDRA would set alarm bells? But specially did your people not know I have enhanced senses?'_ Steve mentally snarked. He was not happy with his situation, and the fact he was momentarily trapped.

"Break what?" He had decided to play along, but Steve simply could not help snarking. "The fact I'm not in Kansas anymore Toto?" Steve upped the glare a notch. Most of the men who had ever been under his command knew that particular one bode nothing good if directed at them. "That was actually rather obvious from the moment I regained consciousness."

Nick sighed, and looked rather chagrined. "That bad?" The Captain nodded, still glaring, and he had to admit it was rather impressive. It might have cowed anyone else. "So... what was it that gave it away, since it clearly was not the game." He could not admit being curious, but he was.

"The game was the confirmation, and the list is rather long." He was not going to make it easier for them. Steve's eyes kept darting around looking for an out, yet they came back to the eye patch man. He was clearly the one in charge.

"You have been asleep," Nick said not unkindly. "For nearly seventy years Cap." The truth this time since the young man before him clearly distrusted them.

Coulson had warned them not to go the route they chose to. Told him they would not fool the Captain, and the attempt at deception would only lose them the trust they wanted to gain in the first place. He had clearly been right, and Nick should have listened to him.

Yes, Coulson was a fan boy, but as a fan, he knew probably more about Captain America than anyone else at SHIELD. Nick took at good look at the soldier before him. For starters, he did look much younger than he expected. Rogers was hiding whatever shock he was feeling, and was acting very much like he was in hostile territory. The young man was clearly searching for ways to escape them.

_'Like I didn't know that already,'_ Steve retorted mentally, feeling every inch the annoyed teenager. Still he managed to keep his thoughts to himself.

He stood there apparently frozen at the revelation. But his eyes had not stopped scanning his surroundings. Steve was scanning the closest gadgets, checking for those whose users had unlimited messaging plans as they were less likely to notice his use of their gadgets. He asked a few of them to send messages to his mother's phone, then delete any trace of them.

His Ma, Sarah Rogers, was a smart woman, and Steve was sure she had been able to put two and two together when he disappeared. Unfortunately history reported him dead, and he needed to let her know he was alive and back. Although he was not the same he had been when he left.

_{The ice didn't kill me Ma}_ Was sent from a passerby phone.

_{I was 'asleep' for nearly seventy years}_ Went out from another.

_{A government agency found me}_ He informed her.

_{I just awoke today. I need to be cautious}_ This was important so she understood why he did not go home right away.

_{Will contact you again when I know more}_ This went from an agent's phone.

_{I'm Okay. Missed you a lot Ma, take care}_ This went from a phone about a block away.

_{Don't respond to any of these messages}_ The last he sent from the phone of another of the agents surrounding him.

* * *

## First Contact

Sarah Rogers read the messages coming at a fast pace from different numbers she did not recognize and cried. Her baby boy was alive! She had indeed suspected what happened when she came home to find the glowing gem and the empty apartment.

A look at what Steve had been doing in the computer added to her suspicions. Still she reported him missing, concerned he did not take any of his medication. Her son had indeed become Captain America, and was no longer the child he had been. History said he was twenty-six when he went down. It did not matter to her how old he was, as long as she got to hold her baby boy again.

* * *

## Times Square

"You are going to be OK?" Eye patch man inquired.

"Yeah," he would be.

As soon as he could get rid of them, go home, and eat some of his Ma's soup, because he was getting very hungry. Well, he was usually always hungry, one of the Super Soldier Serum's side effects. But his mother made the best soup ever, and he had missed it, specially when he had ended very ill.

Steve would miss the friends he left behind, and grieve for them as most were dead. But his only family was in 2012, and he was finally back where he belonged, as unexpected as it was.

"Yeah, I just... I had a date." They both had known he was not going to make it, but it had been something to dream of as he directed the plane towards the ice. Steve would miss his Peggy, but perhaps he could visit the one from the future later, just to get some closure.

"Who are you, and where am I actually? The dame back there did not say..." He kept on the act as he scanned his... captors and their gadgets.

The phones told him what he needed to know. SHIELD. Great! He was screwed! Steve doubted they would leave him alone. They were worse than a dog with a bone. As the SSR's successors SHIELD would treat him like he belonged to them, and they could make him disappear with no one the wiser if they wanted to.

"I am Nicholas Fury, Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, SHIELD for short. You are in New York City Captain," Nick told the very distrustful soldier before him. "That was not a lie.

"The date is April 17 2012, and you were in SHIELD's New York offices. We became the SSR's replacement once the war was over. Chester Phillips, Margaret Carter, and Howard Stark were our founders," he hoped to reassure him by mentioning people he knew. "Why don't you come with us so we can answer your questions?"

With the forces displayed Steve doubted he actually had a choice. While he was certain he could escape and lose them, Steve was concerned they might try to shoot him, and end hurting the many civilians staring at the scene curiously.

"Very well," Steve agreed, and boarded the vehicle Fury signalled.

* * *

## Conversation with Fury

The trip was done in silence, which gave him time to ponder how he was going to deal with SHIELD. He definitely was not going to mention being a time traveler, or the fact he was able to communicate with anything electronic with chips installed. That would definitely get him sent to a lab for study.

SHIELD's people would also expect him to act confused about modern equipment, and to ask questions about the war and his friends. So he made a list of questions he believed someone from the past would ask, and prepared for the performance of his life.

Steve could act, and was rather good at it, since no one had noticed how old he actually was until the argument with Bucky. He had become even better during the USO tour. Steve had been coached by the girls to improve his performance on stage, as well as during all the functions he had to attend. He knew he needed to fool people who were observant for a living since SHIELD was mostly a spying agency, so he really had to do his best.

Once at SHIELD's New York offices, Steve followed Director Fury straight to his office. It was a spacious and modern affair with large glass windows allowing an impressive view of the street below and the buildings in front. He did take notice the windows were clearly bullet proof, and not easily broken.

They were on the twenty-second floor, nearly at the top, and the building was not the tallest amongst those on the street. It was rather inconspicuous. Over all, Steve found it a rather nice work place, but also well protected. There were less cameras in the room as well, and he could tell Fury had full control over them.

The Director was good to his promise of explaining things, and without Steve having to ask too many questions. Except for those which he would be expected to ask if he had not originally been from the future. The outcome of the war in particular, as well as about his friends. Fury promised to provide him with files on the Commandos as well as the people he had been close to.

Steve was given a super brief summary of what happened since he crashed in the arctic. History was never his forte, but it all checked with what he remembered, so at least the Director was not twisting facts to suit his needs. The meeting was interrupted by a man named Albert Kraft, a doctor.

"What is the meaning of this doctor Kraft? You can't just come barging into my office while I am in a meeting," Nick demanded of one of their most prominent scientists. He did not have a good feeling about this.

"I have come to see why **It** has not been turned over to my division for the extensive testing and experimentation I required," the man demanded.

"Doctor, we have already gone over this. You are NOT allowed to run any kind of tests or experimentation on human beings. The Captain is a human being, not an object for you to research." The young man had visibly tensed, and was scanning his office intently, probably looking for a way to escape.

"But **It** is the only Super Soldier ever produced! We need to find a way to extract the serum, or clone **It** to make more Super Soldiers. We also need to know the scope of the serum's abilities, and the changes it produced in the object Director. I cannot do that without keeping **It** secure in my lab!"

"I refuse to be experimented on!" Steve had stood up.

"Doctor," Nick began only to be presented with a thick file.

It was the testing schedule, and extensive information about what each test would do. Steve managed to read it over the Director's shoulder and was horrified, especially since nowhere in the document presented did the fact he was an actual human being was taken into consideration. Kraft kept referring to him as an **It**.

"I expect **It** in my labs as soon as you're through with It Director," he said practically leering at the Super Soldier, who recoiled.

Steve might be able to make a jump to the other building, if he broke a window first, and from there he could try to reach ground level, or even go to the roof and try to jump to the neighboring buildings until he had a clear way to reach street level. He should probably get into the subway and try to lose anyone in pursuit there.

As an after thought he decided to pick the Doctor's, as that was how Fury addressed him, and the Director's pockets. He did learn how to do that while in the 40s, and he was a rather decent pickpocket. Thankfully he did not have to do that for very long. He did not like stealing. But their wallets should provide him with some money for transportation and to change his clothes.

"At ease soldier," Nick said when he saw Rogers was beginning to panic. The young man was already in the process of scanning his surroundings for an escape route. Not that he blamed him, Kraft was insane if he thought he would approve such barbaric treatment.

Nick had ordered assassinations, and had even allowed Romanoff to do her worst when questioning enemies, but Rogers was not an enemy. Nick wanted the soldier to be a member of SHIELD. He was sure Rogers would be an invaluable asset once the young man was acclimated to the 21st century.

"Doctor Kraft," he said staring the man down. "Any and all research on the Super Soldier program was scraped years ago." At least by SHIELD, practically since Bruce Banner became the Hulk. The risks were not worth it. "And you were NOT hired to work on it."

"But Director..." Kraft started to protest.

"No doctor," he said firmly. "Permission to test and/or experiment on Captain Rogers is denied. Permission to work on anything relating to the Super Soldier program is also denied."

"You cannot stop science Director! We need to know more about Erskine's formula! I was to have first dibs at the body!" He had not been happy to discover **It** was alive, because he was denied access to the body.

"He is alive, and the Captain is a human being, not an object Kraft. The fact you fail to realize that is the main reason you will NEVER be allowed to experiment on people SHIELD does NOT do that. For this reason you are NOT allowed to approach, or address the Captain in any way doctor.

"In fact, you are not allowed to be within fifty fucking feet of Rogers, and neither are any of the staff working under you. Failure to comply will not only result in the shutting down of your whole department," the crazy doctor actually recoiled at this, "your contract and that of anyone working for you will be terminated.

"Be warned, should Captain Rogers be harmed in ANY way, or samples be taken from him without his consent, I will personally make sure you regret ever hearing about the Super Soldier Serum. Am I understood?" The doctor looked at him mutinously. "Am I clear doctor?" He asked again sounding quite dangerous.

"Crystal Director," Kraft said stiffly, and clearly very displeased.

"Good, now leave," Nick ordered and turned to look at the soldier, who was clearly very distrustful now. Great, what little he had gained he lost again.

He sighed the moment Kraft was out the door. Could things get any worse? They already had three major clusterfucks in an afternoon, it was not normal, and Nick could not understand just what was wrong with his agents and staff.

SHIELD had an excellent record of being efficient, and well organized, yet today they had been practically incompetent. He needed to start an investigation into what happened, and of course issue the necessary orders to keep Kraft and his sycophants from bothering the soldier.

"Please Cap, take a seat," he requested, and had to wait for a few minutes until the younger man warily, and practically oozing distrustfulness, did as requested. "I feel I must apologize again, as this is not the way SHIELD usually operates."

"So I'm a special case?" Steve's voice was loaded with sarcasm.

"Frankly Cap, you actually are," Nick admitted. "There is no one else who has ever been in your situation. Cryogenically preserving anything alive more evolved than a frog has not been tried to my knowledge."

"I see," Steve said slowly. "So I have to watch out for every nut case scientist around?" He was not pleased by this, not at all. His list of potential enemies had just increased exponentially.

"No Captain, it should not come to that." The least they needed was to have a paranoid Super Soldier on their hands. "Doctor Kraft is... a special case. The man is brilliant, but he's also very in favor of experimenting on humans... without restraint. We hired him as a way to keep an eye on the man, and keep him from actually working on humans."

"Not very reassuring Director," he glared at the man, "specially when that doctor's ideas reminds me quite a lot of Arnim Zola, HYDRA's main scientist." His face hardened at this, and his voice did not hide how Steve loathed the Austrian scientist for experimenting on Bucky. It got even worse after he lost his brother in all but blood in the mission to capture him. "He too liked to experiment on humans, specially allied prisoners of war."

"Kraft won't bother you Cap," he assured the young man barely containing a shudder.

The mention of Zola clearly evoked strong emotions, hate would not be too strong a word to describe it. Nick did wonder what would happen if Rogers ever found out Zola had been recruited by the SSR after his capture. The scientist had worked for them until his body died in the 1970s, but his consciousness was still preserved in several data banks.

He must make sure Rogers did not find out, or Nick was sure he would lose any chance at recruiting the young soldier, if they had not lost it already with the major clusterfuck the afternoon had proven to be so far.

To distract the Super Soldier Nick spoke a bit more about the future, and offered Rogers SHIELD's assistance to acclimate to what would be his new world. The Captain was clearly hesitant to accept any assistance from them, and actually demanded a legally binding document where SHIELD stated any help they provided had no strings attached. Because if they were going to demand he paid them back, the Cap preferred to flounder in the 21st Century on his own.

Nick sighed that was not what he expected, but he agreed and had his secretary and the Head of SHIELD's legal department take care of it. He wanted to have Captain America as a SHIELD operative, and he knew from experience that forcing someone to work for them was not the way to do it. Those agents were the first to turn on them. Hopefully they could show the soldier SHIELD was the best option for him.

The document was in his inbox in no time, Nick went over it, then printed it for Rogers to read, and hopefully accept what SHIELD offered him. The younger man went over it slowly, asked for clarification on their offers, then accepted the document. Nick signed it, and a copy for himself.

He then called two agents, Wilkins and Frampton, to lead the Captain to one of the meeting rooms and debrief him on his last mission. He unfortunately could not be present because the World Security Council had just called.

* * *

## Mad Scientist

The agents led Steve to a room down in the bowels of the building, which he found strange. But he did not really know the layout of SHIELD's New York offices, or how they operated, so he said nothing. When he entered the room he had frozen. It looked like a large cell, or a bunker.

All four walls were thick and bare concrete, no windows, bright fluorescent lights, and a very thick metal door. No one would hear what happened inside. There was a gurney with thick chains in the middle of the room, a couple of tables with wicked looking medical instruments, and a few electronic medical equipments he was not quite sure of their function.

Feeling betrayed, Steve turned ready to fight his way out of the building, and actually knocked one of the agents out. He saw Kraft at the door, and pushed the other agent out of his way, only to hear a high pitched sound that had him covering his sensitive ears. He fell on the floor as his body became limp and unresponsive, but his mind was still very much conscious. Steve tried to fight off the paralysis, but his body was not responding.

The hours that followed were the worst of his life. He had been captured by nazis and HYDRA a few of times during missions, and there had been torture involved. He had been beaten, shocked, waterboarded, and cut; that he could take. All but the waterboarding were things Kraft actually did do to him, to see how the Super Soldier Serum healed him, and how long it took to do so.

Then the psycho took samples and biopsies from just about everywhere he could without actually cutting him completely open. If Kraft thought the Super Soldier Serum would heal him fast enough, Steve was sure the madman would have probably removed a kidney, and large pieces of other internal organs. For once he was grateful the Super Soldier Serum did not heal him instantly.

While he 'worked' the doctor spoke about cloning him to make more super soldiers, since the technology was available. He spoke freely because he did not think Steve would understand what he was talking about. After all, he was supposed to be a man from the 1940s. Then he talked about other ways of obtaining the super soldiers he wanted, should cloning fail. By breeding them.

Kraft needed semen samples for his breeding program, but he did not want to risk damaging that particular part of his test subject in case they needed more contributions. Which they would have to be very careful in obtaining since Fury did not authorize any of it, and would literally have their hides if he found out. The real emotional and mental torture for Steve began then as he realized just how the madman intended to obtain those samples.

Steve had broken down then, still paralyzed, he could only mentally cry and beg to be left alone, for those people not to touch him. But he could not voice them, not for a while longer, when he finally began to regain some control over his body. Still he could not fight, Kraft was pumping him full of some kind of drug faster than the Super Soldier Serum could eliminate it. There were IVs going into both his arms, his neck, and his calves.

He did manage to slur the pleas he had made mentally, too out of it due to the drugs to do much else, but they fell on deaf ears. In fact, they laughed at him, and Steve hated himself at the end of the eternity it seemed they had kept him. His body had betrayed him, responding to what they did to him, and had given Kraft what he wanted.

His body provided Kraft with much more than expected as the Super Soldier Serum helped him recover, and he was a teenager underneat the appearance of an adult. They kept stimulating his body until he was finally dry, until he could no longer think anymore. Until whatever drug they were pumping into his veins was no longer necessary because his body practically gave out on him.

They had used a 'toy' during their... 'Procedure', but once they had their samples all three men had their fill of him as well. He had been too weak and out of it to fight them off, to do anything but stare blankly at the floor because he had no more tears to shed. Steve had passed out at some point, his mind and body finally giving up.


	3. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_  
>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces to some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.  
>  **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ **Completely totally AU** , _Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._  
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes._  
>  **Author's Note:** This is quite a long chapter, but I saw no way to break it properly. I also did some basic corrections to the previous two chapters, maily removing a few keys and correcting spelling and/or grammar.  
>  **Total size without notes:** 6,176  
>  ** _Keys:_**  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## Aftermath

When he regained consciousness Steve found himself in a simple hotel like bedroom, feeling sore, bruised, and as hungover as the day he decided to drink one of Bucky's whiskey bottles to see what the buzz about getting drunk was all about.

_It was the first and only time Steve ever got drunk. This was before he participated in Project Rebirth, so alcohol did affect him. He had been so drunk he had giggled at everything, cried, and had actually revealed he was a time traveller who was born in the year 1999. Thankfully no one believed it._

_Steve had also been so drunk he could not stand, saw double, and he had been so very ill the next day. To make things worse, Bucky had no pity of him. The jerk scolded him for what felt like an eternity, then spent the whole day making as much noise as he could. Steve swore never to drink again._

_He did not follow through with that promise, but with the Super Soldier Serum in his body, alcohol did not affect him anymore. Steve learned instead to appreciate the taste of quality drinks when they were available, and... He did win a few bets for the Commandos by drinking a few unsuspecting victims under the table._

According to the electronic clock on the night table by the bed, it was around noon the day after he 'awoke' in the future. The moment he remembered what happened, Steve had curled up on the bed miserably and stared at nothing. He was not giving Kraft the satisfaction of crying again, specially because the bastard had actually been happy to collect his tears.

Steve stayed practically unmoving on the bed two whole days. He did not drink, or eat anything, not that he felt hungry. Quite the contrary, he had actually spent a good amount of time dry heaving whenever he thought about what was done to him. Steve was terrified Kraft and those two agents would return, and render him completely helpless again. He feared they would do... THAT to him again.

His mind was refusing to put a name to what was done to him, and thinking about IT was out of the question. Unfortunately, Steve could not forget. What he could do instead was lock those memories at the back of his mind, and pretend for all he was worth IT did not happen. Because that was the only way Steve was going to be able to function.

It was evening of the second day when Fury himself came, there had been other agents before, but Steve had ignored them all. The Director had practically bullied him out of the bed, and into the shower (where Steve had nearly scrubbed himself raw, not that the Super Soldier Serum let it show), then led him to the cafeteria so he could eat something.

Steve had only eaten since it was expected of him, and the Super Soldier Serum needed fuel, or he would start losing muscles as he had practically no body fat to lose. He could not afford to be weak while in SHIELD's hands. But eating even a fraction of what he needed was hard because he was not hungry at all.

To make matters worse, Steve almost upchucked the meal right there and then, as well as nearly had a panic attack (which he stopped only by sheer bull headedness) when he saw Wilkins walk by. The bastard had the gall to leer at him, and make some rather suggestive gestures to remind him of... THAT.

Fury's back had been to the agent, so he did not notice more than the fact Steve 'suddenly' lost what little color he had. He had to pull on all his acting experience to appear somewhat normal as well as unaffected, and Steve knew he had not quite pulled it off. Thankfully it seemed the Director blamed his condition on grief, shock at finding himself nearly seventy years in the future, as well as his still very clear distrust of SHIELD and its agents.

While Steve forced himself to eat, Fury informed him they had found him a quiet, and out of the way place where he could have some time to assimilate what happened to him. They called it The Cabin. He would be alone there, as well as away from any modern city. Steve nearly had a panic attack for the second time in less than an hour. A place like The Cabin would leave him vulnerable and at Kraft's mercy.

He adamantly refused to go to The Cabin. Steve insisted a place in New York City, any place, was fine with him. He told Fury he rather have the opportunity to observe how things were in the future, and try them himself. Steve could see his refusal surprised the Director, but the man did locate him an apartment in Brooklyn.

The apartment Fury found for him was one of their many safe houses. If Steve was staying in New York City, then he would need to be at SHIELD's New York offices every morning to receive a few 'Living in the 21st century' lessons. He could agree to that, even though he did not need them.

If Fury had noticed how Steve kept his distance from him, and any other male member of SHIELD coming within his personal space, the man did not mention it. The Director himself drove him to his new home, and showed him the very basics of the microwave, the phone, and the TV. In the morning at eight agents Lozano and Johnson would pick him up. They would show him how to use the subway to get to SHIELD in Manhattan.

* * *

## Life outside

After what Kraft did to him, Steve found SHIELD was surprisingly accommodating. This led him to believe the mad doctor had indeed gone against the Directors' orders, as well as the fact Fury wanted to recruit him. It would not have been a bad option now that he was an unemployed super soldier instead of an unemployed child prodigy.

Unfortunately Kraft was still there, and Steve could not trust he would be safe. The mad scientist had already gotten to him behind Fury's back, less than an couple of hours after he had been denied permission to conduct experiments on him. For this reason Steve could not trust SHIELD. It also let him know the Director was not as aware of the goings on in his agency as he believed.

Fury wanted his skills as a soldier, and perhaps his leadership ones, but there was more to him than that. Steve had two Masters under his belt, and frankly he wanted to add a Biochemistry degree, perhaps one in medicine as well.

After his experience in the 1940s he realized those were important areas of study as well. They would have certainly made his life easier if he had known enough about them to make himself something for his illnesses. Then there were still the PhD's to obtain in his chosen fields.

The Super Soldier Serum intrigued him as well, specially because he needed an explanation as to how he managed to be in suspended animation for sixty-six years and not age. He now needed to know what exactly the Super Soldier Serum did to his body, and how it remained working.

Steve started his visits to SHIELD's New York offices for a very rudimentary acclimatization the next morning. Those visits suited Steve's plans so he did not initially protest much. The agents though, grated on his nerves. They had been so condescending, treating him like he lacked any intelligence simply because he 'supposedly' was from the past. Frankly it took all he had not to start bashing heads.

* * *

It was the third of his 'supposed' acclimatization lessons, and Steve's patience had finally reached its limit; not that he had ever been a very patient guy. Lozano was about to explain the telephone, appliances, and gadgets when she stopped and simply told him very slowly, in a tone one would use to speak to someone with a severe mental handicap.

"I guess we will have to start at the very beginning Captain, you see, almost everything in this modern times uses electricity. But of course, being from the forties I don't believe you have heard of it." She did not even try to hide her condescending tone, while her partner snickered.

"Is this a joke to you agent Lozano? Or to you agent Johnson?" Steve glared at them, and the anger in his voice was evident. What did they think he was? A cave man from the last ice age?

"No, of course not Captain Rogers, we're just doing our job in acclimating you to our modern world," Johnson said placatingly as he realized they might have gone a bit overboard, although he was not sure what had set the soldier off.

"We are only trying to help you by showing you what is now available..." Lozano began but Steve interrupted.

"I don't believe you are the adequate persons for the job then," he sneered at them, "because clearly you have no clue what you're talking about. I come from the forties, NOT the middle ages, or worse the Cretaceous period, and if you don't know what that is, look it up on the Internet."

"How dare..." Lozano bristled insulted, although she could not help looking a bit confused, as did Johnson. She did not want to admit having no clue as to what the Cretaceous period was. Lozano did not get to say more because Steve interrupted her again.

"I dare. How can you attempt to teach me history, as well as how this world operates when you don't even know the subject? Did you even bother to do research on what you're supposed to teach, or me for that matter? Or did you just arrogantly come here believing me an uneducated idiot?

"For your information, electricity has been in use in New York City since the beginning of the twentieth century, and by the 1930s there was electricity in most houses. Telephones were not far behind.

"As to appliances, I repaired them for a living before enlisting. I invented and patented a few which are still in use now." He upped the glare when both agents gaped. "Your computers are nothing I did not expect.

"I met Alan Turing during the war." Back then it had really taken a lot not to start fanboying or geeking out, but he did manage... Barely. "We would meet whenever our schedules allowed to discuss the future and possible uses of his A-Machines." At their confused looks he could not keep the disgusted expression on his face. "He's considered one of the fathers of modern computing.

"Alan was one of the persons I researched on the Internet with a bit of help from a civilian." This was a lie, as he had not needed to do the research since he already knew Alan's fate. He also did not need anyone to 'teach' him how to use the gadgets. "This person taught me to use the cel phone, the tablet, and the laptop SHIELD provided for me, and which you did not even bother to explain.

"I've had enough, these... 'lessons'," and he made air quotes for emphasis, "are over. I'll acclimate on my own." He stood up and made his way to the door.

"You can't leave, Director Fury's instructions are for you to take these lessons!" Johnson told him.

"And who's going to stop me?" Steve snapped. "You?"

"You need the security code to leave the room," Lozano said smugly.

"Do I really?" Steve asked raising an eyebrow, she nodded. "Then watch me."

Steve assessed the door for a moment, it was more for privacy than security, so it was not reinforced. Then he connected with the access panel, which was more than willing to provide him with the code to open the door, as he was the first human to ever talk to it. He thanked it, and appologized because he was going to break the door it was guarding.

Two powerful kicks had removed the door from its hinges. The first dented it, and the second did the job, leaving it only connected to the wall where the lock was. Steve did not even have to use his full strenght to do that. He stepped out of the room while Lozano and Johnson gaped.

"By the way, the security code is 748675. I happen to have very good hearing agents."

For a spying agency they made the mistake of letting their access panels keyboards beep. Each key had a different tone, anyone with a decent ear for music and a good memory would have no trouble learning their access codes. He had not been paying attention, otherwise he would have learned the password earlier, instead of having to ask the panel.

"Good afternood, it has definitely NOT been a pleasure meeting you, and I hope we don't cross paths again."

He left the room, but connected with the security cameras and located the videos of his 'lessons'. He copied and uploaded them to his new cloud storage account. They might come in handy later on, specially if Fury tried to get him back into the lessons. Steve then erased all evidence of his presence in the system. No need for SHIELD to know what he was capable of.

* * *

Stopping the lessons left him with quite a lot of free time, which Steve decided to do something about. Too much time to himself, and his traitorous mind attempted to revisit some of the worst moments of the past two years. Specially Bucky's death, the crash, and... IT.

The agents had been the ones to provide him with clothes, a crappy bug infested laptop, tablet, and a cell phone, equally bugged. They were also the ones who took care of equipping the apartment SHIELD provided for him, as well as the necessary IDs, credit, and debit cards so he could live on his own. Those two had 'conveniently forgotten' to teach him how to use them, not that it was a problem for him.

The apartment SHIELD got him was surprisingly two blocks from his home in Brooklyn. Steve could at least try to see his mother when she went about her day, and let her see him so she would not worry about him; even if he could not risk speaking with her. He also took advantage of the many cel phones in New York City to send her at least a message daily, so his Ma would know he was doing fine, but was still unable to approach her.

Steve was no longer the little frail boy he had been, but he knew she would recognize him when she saw him. He realized he actually looked a lot like his mother, and had inherited his father's height and build. The Super Soldier Serum had clearly healed him, made good use of his genetics, and improved them. The blue eyes were his mother's as well, as were his determination and stubborness.

Unfortunately the apartment he had to live at was bugged, as were the gadgets SHIELD provided for him, and even the damn clothes. So could not even try to call his mother from there. Steve had practically no privacy at all. They had placed both cameras and mics nearly everywhere in the apartment. At least the bathroom was free of cameras, but still, who needed to hear what happened in the privacy of a bathroom?

His bedroom only had mics as well, thank heaven. It would be even more creepy to know they were watching him sleep, or if he had been so inclined and feeling up to it, when he brought company for the night. Not that he would, specially not after... Kraft.

Steve was annoyed, and not just a little angry. What did they take him for, a terrorist? So he decided he was going to mess with SHIELD's collective minds. Bucky used to say he could be a vindictive little shit if he was riled enough, and SHIELD had crossed the line.

He had originally planned on doing just a few out of character things, but nothing too big. Perhaps just pass as more adept at adapting than was reported, or being better at using technology than expected. Although, was it really out of character if what was reported about him was idealized?

Steve had accessed his file, and had been surprised by the amount of information it was lacking. There was nothing about his work before enlisting, except for what he did for those advertising agencies. Nothing about working as assistant on several important labs, or being an invertor with several patents. His work with Howard on the HYDRA weapons, or designing the Howling Commandos' gear was not mentioned either.

The file he read was actually the sanitized one the USO, and later the SSR used for their war propaganda. The one used for the documentaries, and those awful movies he made. The only insubordination mentioned was his rescue of Bucky and the 107th. It had not been the only one.

Phillips used to say he was a six feet two, 240 pounds pain in his ass, because he would not follow orders if the collateral damage implied many civilian lives. He would change the plan to minimize casualties as much as possible. There was really nothing about who he was as a person, or even what he was capable of doing in that file.

He was human after all, and he liked to have fun with his people. Steve got hurt like them as well, he had had his bad days like any other soldier, and since he was thirteen, Steve could not have a 'normal' conversation with young women (unless it was Peggy) to save his life. He stuttered, blushed, stammered, and overall made a fool of himself.

Steve had been known to prank people, along with Bucky and Jim. They knew he could snark with the best of them, and he was banned from playing poker by Colonel Phillips himself. He always won, and ended with practically half the company's allotted chocolate bars. Who could blame him? Really, his metabolism demanded lots and lots of calories.

He had strong morals and beliefs thanks to his mother; but he was no saint. Steve drank during the war even if alcohol did not affect him. It was not forbidden back then. He could appreciate good scotch or brandy, and actually enjoyed the taste of a good beer. Steve had smoked as well. Whatever he looked outside, he was still a teenager, and peer pressure did get to him at one point, but he did not like smoking so he never took to the vice.

After one particularly bad mission in Italy, the Commandos cooperated and paid a woman to make a man out of him. They knew he could not get drunk, and frankly he had been rather messed up. Steve had protested and argued, but it... had helped take his mind of things. Still, it was not something he had indulged in often despite his age. He was, perhaps, a bit of a sap; but he wanted to find the right woman.

He had also had his share of brawls (before and after he enlisted, and even before he went back in time). He hated bullies plain and simple. The brawls he got involved in during the war were usually to support his team. He had come across quite a few people who had objected about Gabe's, Jacques', and Jim's presence, or to protect a woman's honor. So he really had not been the saint they had painted him to be. He had simply been a regular guy.

But SHIELD had managed to annoy the heck out of him with their surveillance. The three neighbors on his floor were SHIELD agents (there were four apartments per floor), and there were a couple of them living in the building across the street with direct view to his apartment. All that besides the electronic bug infestation in the apartment, clothes, and gadgets as well as the fact he was being followed whenever he went out.

Steve 'fried' the mics in his bathroom and bedroom. SHIELD did not need to know what he did in there, whether he farted, slept, snored, cried for his lost friends, or even chose to bring someone home. Which he would not do, but that was besides the point. The fact remained they were invading his privacy.

He also had all the neighbors gadgets and appliances acting up randomly making sure it could not be connected to him. Steve selected a pop/rock radio station, as well as the latin one Mrs Guzman from across the hall at home liked to listen to, and had either one or the other on practically 24/7 at a rather loud volume. Not enough to call the manager, or the cops, but enough the others heard it.

Then Steve 'accidentally' hard formatted both his laptop and cell phone, as well as reset the tablet to factory settings. Meanwhile the washer from the neighbor across the hall flooded the apartment, the TV of another was stuck in the cartoon network (it would not turn off, and the volume was deafening), and the iron of the other shortcircuited the whole apartment.

With the laptop out of commission, Steve went to Pete's Electronics Repair Shop. It was only a block away, and a place he had liked to spend time at on his good days before he was sent to the past. Pete could always use some free help, and he was a very nice guy.

Steve upgraded his laptop himself with Pete's 'assistance', and on SHIELD's budget. Then he installed the latest Linux stable release, and the apps Pete suggested (not that Steve needed it, but it was in case the agents asked), plus a few others more adequate for experienced programmers. Steve also got his phone configured again, and the tracker on it removed. To end he began taking 'lessons'.

The next morning the first thing he did was buy art supplies, Steve really had missed properly sketching and drawing. It was something that relaxed him, let him express himself, and forget about his problems, if only for a little while. He also managed to visit three art galleries.

In the afternoon, after he indulged at a Japanese food buffet, Steve then went to the park near his apartment where he knew the Parkour, as well as the skateboarder crowd gathered. He had been interested in both activities, but due to his ill health he had had no hope of ever practicing them.

With the Super Soldier Serum he would be able to, and Steve planned on learning. It was also enough out of character to mess a bit with his minders. Steve spent the rest of the afternoon observing, and studying the movements, surprised he had actually been using some of them during his fights.

Back in the forties he had learnt some fighting techniques, and something that was similar to Parkour. Probably a precursor. He also got to speak with some of the Traceurs (what the Parkour practitioners were called) who had approached to see his work and were impressed with his sketches. They suggested adequate clothing and the same happened with some skateboarders. He was invited to join them the next afternoon.

Steve decided to go shopping in the morning for the suggested clothing, and since he was at it, he would buy a more modern wardrobe. Frankly what Johnson and Lozano chose for him was atrocious. Yes he got used to the forties fashion, and there were some very nice things to wear. But really, those two had either terrible taste in clothes, or did it just to annoy him.

The next day after a restless night due to nightmares about the ice and the war, Steve decided to postpone shopping for a bit, and chose to work instead on the laptop coding. He wanted something he could run to hide his real internet use. Something just in case someone, namely SHIELD, was messing with his WIFI and trying to see what he was doing.

The end program ran in the background, and surfed the net, in particular the Wikipedia for info about WWII, and world history afterward. He also left a few Trojans and worms floating around that would only attack known SHIELD IPs, and those of his neighbors and the spies in the building across from him. They were just to annoy the heck out of them, but nothing that would cause real damage.

Once the program was running, and Steve was sure it was secure, he was able to reacquaint himself with the projects he had been working on before he was sent to the past. He checked his clogged inbox, and visited several of his preferred forums to catch up.

Steve did abstain from participating in any discussions as there was no way yet to explain why a twelve year old had the mind of a fifteen year old and the body of someone at least twenty. That was a mess he was not looking forward to sorting.

The second day in his apartment was productive, and it kept his mind off Kraft. He ended it with a marathon of Doctor House' first season, and fell asleep on the couch. Nightmares awoke him in the early morning, around seven, so he at least got around four hours of sleep.

He changed into some excercise clothing and went for a 'light' morning run. He only ran fifteen miles. His tale actually stole a bicycle to keep up with him. After a shower, Steve went out in search of breakfast.

Then he went shopping for clothes, some groceries, and cleaning supplies for the apartment. He probably bored the heck out of his tail. Since he was already out Steve also bought himself a skateboard, and the necessary gear.

In the afternoon Steve went back to the park and joined the Parkour crowd. He allowed himself the chance to simply forget about his immediate problems, and had a lot of fun. Back during the war he had discovered his body learned easily, and took advantage of it. Soon he was matching a few of the Traceurs with more time practicing. His afternoon tail was not too happy to have to follow him through rather difficult routes.

Steve also got the chance to start learning how to skateboard. It was not as easy as he initially thought, but truth be told, he took to it like a duck to water after a few tries. Steve felt confident enough to skateboard his way back to the apartment, although he was not yet ready for the many tricks he had seen. His tail cursed him practically with each step the man took.

Rolling from one place to the other, avoiding people and obstacles was an enjoyable challenge, so Steve decided it would be his main mode of transportation. His tail was probably going to quit after a couple of days, or buy himself a skateboard as well to keep up. He counted that as a well done job.

* * *

The following days Steve balanced his activities. He went sightseeing, to the library, and to as many museums and art galleries as he could get to. For most of this he used either the subway, his skateboard, or a combination of both. Until one of the many agents brought him a vintage Harley Davidson bike, on which he spent a whole morning doing maintenance, and cleaning it of bugs. He used the bike when he wanted to go beyond Brooklyn's boundaries.

He always made time for some Parkour though, so if he could not join the afternoon crowd, he would go for a run in the mornings. In a week Steve had already had three different tails for each shift, and his neighbors looked rather rumpled and haggard. He was alternating the torture from the appliances from hell.

Despite his many activities during the day, the nights were difficult to say the least. Nightmares of Kraft were even worse than those of the ice. He was really glad the serum allowed him to go on with little sleep, but remaining at that sterile apartment after waking up from a nightmare was terrible in its own way.

Steve ended joining the boxing gym located a block away from his real home. He had to pay extra for the chance to use the installation after hours, but to him it was a matter of his mental sanity. Because at least there Steve had things to punch and kick when things got to be too much. He was also going through punching bags like one does socks, but since he was paying for them the manager had no complaints.

As much as he wanted to deny it, Steve knew Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was part of his life now, and for the forseeable future. Also, while he had finally gotten back the most important person in his life, he had lost so many good friends, and a brother in all but blood.

He needed help, there was no denying it, but Steve did not trust SHIELD's therapists. Perhaps later, once he did not feel like a criminal who needed to be watched over, he might accept the help, or find someone else. His Ma knew several because of her line of work, so she might know who he could trust to help him.

At night he wanted to go home so badly, to set aside his teenage male pride for a moment, and simply let his Ma hug the daylights out of him. Then they would go through their bad day routine, with her sitting on the couch, and him with his head on her lap while she carded her fingers through his hair. They would watch a movie, or some cartoons, and simply be together comforted in the knowledge both were still there.

Steve could not go back home, as he had yet to completely shake his tail. Whoever was following him always found him despite having checked all his new clothes for trackers and removed them. Steve was not willing to expose his mother to SHIELD. He feared they might try to use her to get him to do whatever it was they wanted from him.

Since he was no longer attending the lessons, he had to report at SHIELD every other day, which he did to avoid being confined to the Cabin. While there, Steve had already had several arguments with some of the other scientists who wanted to run tests on him.

A good number of those test went past intrusive, and into outright cruelty and torture; Steve was sure Kraft was behind them. He had refused, and broke the arm of one of them when the man got too handsy, and tried to pull him towards one of their labs. Thankfully Fury was backing him up, but Steve was not sure for how long.

* * *

By the two week anniversary of being out of the ice, Steve had all of his minders, plus a few at SHIELD in for a loop. His visits to report to the New York City office's served as his way to mess up with them. He was acting so unlike what they expected that most people were utterly confused and could only stare.

Of course Steve was bound to get stared at if he skateboarded his way to Director Fury's office. Then went back out at top speed down the stairs of three floors, while the man demanded loud enough to be heard on the first floor _Who was the motherfucker who introduced Rogers to skateboarding?_

It had been fun though, and a way to let out the teenager he truly was. Because he had had to grow up fast, and become a responsible 'man', from the moment he found himself alone back in 1941. Bucky had done his best to allow him a semblance of a childhood, but his salary was not enough to support the both of them. Besides, Steve had needed for people to believe him an adult in order to participate in Project Rebirth, so he could not act like the kid he truly was.

His wardrobe was by then completely adapted to the 21st century, and Steve was often wearing jeans, or cargo pants, when not wearing sweats. Which he could see the agents at SHIELD who knew about him thought completely unexpected, and way too out of character. Although, if they had truly done their homework, they should have known he was extremely adaptable. It was in the SSR's evaluations after all.

Back then, despite his size, Steve had always managed to blend in when not in either his Captain America suit, or his dress uniform. It should be expected for him to quickly adopt the dress code he felt most comfortable wearing to adapt to his new environment.

Another thing he was doing, and which he knew was puzzling his minders was his interest in biochemistry. He had taken some books on loan from the library, and gone through them at his usual pace, which was much faster than average people were used to. Then came his penchant for dismantling things and put them back together again, and making them work better.

He had gone through all the appliances in his apartment, and the buildings' central heating during his sleepless nights. Then he had also fixed three cars, and two motorcycles belonging to a few neighbors (not the SHIELD guys though). He had bought himself one of the best tool kits he could get his hands on, plus everything he needed to repair electronics.

Steve had also nearly given his tail a heart attack the first time he went clubbing. He had done it only three times actually. He had been curious about modern clubs, as Steve had been to a few with either Bucky or the Commandos back then, but he never learned to dance the 1940s styles.

He liked modern dancing, and knew how, although he did not think he was any good at it even if it was less complicated. So Steve took advantage of having an ID saying he was twenty-six to see what it was like.

The music and the dancing were OK, but 21st Century women were a bit more than he could deal with. The first time he actually returned to his apartment with a rather bruised ass having lost count of how many took advantage of being in a crowd to pinch it. The other two times went a bit better though.

Teenage pride aside, his self-esteem was not ready for that kind of heavy flirting, but he did not think it would ever be after Kraft. To add, Steve was never that adventurous when it came to regular women, he had very little experience with that side of life. He was too awkward, too shy, too used to being the sickly kid, too much of a wallflower, and being in a war had not helped his social graces any.

The last clubbing experiment, and the nightmares, were what had him in the gym past midnight, and beating up punching bags like there was no tomorrow. He felt lonely and isolated. He missed his 1940s friends, his home, and his mother a lot. Normally no self respecting sixteen year old would admit to missing their mothers, but frankly he had been through hell and was not normal. Never had been actually.

He saw her earlier in the day, and she had seen him. For a moment Steve almost approached her when he saw the look of immense love and pride in her eyes. His tail became rather obvious then, and Steve had walked away at a fast pace to keep the man from noticing how much they looked alike.

Steve was punching the bag for all he was worth while having some flashbacks to missions during the war. The explosions in particular were bothering him that night. Who knew? Perhaps the loud bass, or the strobe lights at the club had triggered them.

Then of course there was the crash, Steve was not sure if he could manage getting on board a plane after that experience. Because, while it was sixty-six years for the rest of the world, for him it happened only a couple of weeks ago; and to make things worse, there were the memories of his time under Kraft's control.

Steve could not help it, he kept punching the bag over and over until he finally sent it flying across the room, broken and spilling its contents. He panted trying to calm himself and got another punching bag to start all over again.


	4. The Gym, information, and meet Coulson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don’t own the Avengers, I’m just borrowing them. I’m using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.  
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes._  
>  **Author’s Note:** It seems there’s some doubt as to how Steve managed to escape Kraft and his minions, I made a subtle reference of Kraft having to be careful Fury did not find out what he did. I guess I was too subtle, so I added a few references in this chapter that hopefully will clear that confusion.  
>  Also, since I do have at least up to chapter fifteen, I’ll try to post once at week. Maybe even twice a week. I’m just doing some corrections, and proof reading to the next chapters, and making some a bit longer since they were really short.  
>  **Total size without notes:** 5,844 
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  “Speaking aloud.”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_  
>  _‘Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\’_

## The Gym

Nick stood at the entrance to the old boxing gym where Rogers had chosen to seclude himself that night, and simply observed the Captain pound on the punching bags with increasing anger. Proof the young man was both, affected by his experiences, and a much better actor than anyone gave him credit for.

A man who might not even be considered a man yet, as he could be much younger than everyone initially thought. After the skateboarding incident a few days ago, which had sent him, Coulson, and Hill in for a loop, Nick had concluded he needed more information about Steven Grant Rogers, as opposed to Captain America than what was in their database.

He chose to do a more in depth investigation on the Captain, and the SSR’s records. A thorough review of the surveillance reports on the Captain followed. He had had several junior agents unearth everything they had on Captain Rogers, and which had not been digitalized yet; which was shockingly over eighty percent of the information available.

Nick had not been happy when he realized just how much was missing, but had to admit going through the many reports, and memos, was not as tedious as he thought it would be; even if he had yet to finish going through all they had. Actually, it had been rather eye opening, and he had to wonder why nothing of what he discovered had been included in the official report.

For starters Nick found out that contrary to his official file, Steve Rogers was a good man, not a good soldier. This was something he needed to know since he was contemplating having the Captain as a member of SHIELD. Rogers guided himself by his moral compass, and would most likely balk at some types of missions.

The Cap was actually a very accurate sniper but he objected to outright assassination. Which was why the Howling Commandos depended so much on Sergeant James Barnes, because Rogers had had to compromise at times, and Barnes had offered to take those decisions off his best friend’s shoulders.

He also found specially telling, the fact there were several reports concerning suspicions about Captain Rogers’ real age. There were a few people who believed he was actually a minor. Mostly because of the way the Commandos treated him, or hear say, since the members of his unit tended to call the Cap, or refer to him as, kid when not on missions.

Colonel Phillips had been swift to quiet them down, and refute the accusations, but most of those who reported it were either transferred to other units, or were sent to the front. Despite the transfers, reports still popped here and there throughout the time Rogers served as part of the SSR, all of which were discredited by Phillips.

If the reports were true, and it became known the SSR not only experimented on a minor, but actually allowed him to fight as well as lead men into battle, well, a court martial would be the less of their worries. The public outcry would most likely affect the war bonds sales, which at the time were sorely needed.

There was a birth certificate stating Steven Grant Rogers was indeed born in 1918, which Phillips blandished as proof Rogers was indeed an adult. A twenty-four year old grown up man. The experts were certain it was original, but the document had been obtained in 1941.

What Nick found slightly suspicious, was the fact the document was re-issued a few months after most of Brooklyn’s birth records had been lost in a fire. It was also the year of Sarah Rogers’ death according to the Captain’s enlistment form. The young man could have falsified the birth certificate to avoid going to an orphanage.

It was a well known fact Steve Rogers had lied several times in his attempts to enlist, so it would not be too farfetched if he had also lied about his age. Although Nick did not think Rogers would ever admit he was a minor if that was the case. It did not take a genius to realize the young man trusted SHIELD as far as he could throw them… Back when he had been a scrawny little man.

Whatever was bothering Rogers this night must be causing havoc with the young man because, to his shock, he saw the Captain break a punching bag, and send it flying with one single punch. Nick stared eye wide, the sheer strength it took to do that kind of damage to a punching bag was astounding. He did not want to know what such a punch would do to a human being. Although going from the reports he had read, the Cap rarely, if ever, went all out on his enemies.

“Having trouble sleeping Cap?” Nick asked from the gym’s door. He decided it was about time he interrupted, before Rogers destroyed another punching bag, which SHIELD would be paying for. After the events last night, their budget would be severely depleted.

Despite the image Rogers was portraying, and which had practically left the heads spinning of everyone at the New York offices who were aware of who the Captain was, Nick knew the young man was not faring as well as he pretended. Everyone would have some kind of lingering trauma from the death of his best friend, the war, and his accident in the Arctic; never mind the seventy years time difference.

The younger man was affected, his visits to the gym were proof of that, as was the punching bag he broke, and which was not the only one to suffer that fate. The Captain was also still very distrustful of SHIELD’s motives, and was clearly very angry by their surveillance. His behavior the past couple of weeks showed it.

It was clear the Captain had somehow discovered the bugs in the apartment, found out what they were, and not only disabled three of them more than a couple of times (the ones in the bathroom and the two in his bedroom), he had also rendered the bugs completely useless each time. The agents in charge of the apartment’s surveillance decided not to install them back after the fourth time they were ruined.

They had underestimated Rogers once again, and it seemed no one had bothered to read between the lines on all information they had of him, not until he did. The bug disabling abilities might be new, but he had discovered Rogers had been trained to detect if he was being followed, and in fact excelled at it because of the Super Soldier Serum’s enhancements.

The reports let him see Captain Rogers had been adapting, faster than any of the psychologists believed possible. It was clear the young man was much more intelligent than what the official report suggested.

The fact he had worked repairing electrical appliances, and all kinds of vehicles before he enlisted, led Nick to believe Rogers might not have as hard a time adapting to the 21st Century as they initially thought. Learning how to disable the electronic surveillance in his apartment would not have been all that hard for an electrician.

Another thing was also clear from the reports. The Captain was testing his boundaries, to see if he could escape. Checking how far he could get, and how much SHIELD would tolerate before they intervened, or questioned him. It was probably one of the reasons why he had not disabled all of the bugs.

To Nick it did not take Stark to realize that instead of earning his trust, as he wanted, they alienated the younger man further. Perhaps once this mission he had planned ended he would remove all minders and a good number of the bugs. Maybe then the young man would allow himself to grieve what he lost.

“I slept for seventy years, Sir. I think I’ve had my fill,” Steve responded without stopping. Not that he truly believed it, frankly the lack of proper sleep, along with his lack of appetite, was beginning to take its toll on him.

“Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world. Which is not what you have been doing since you left SHIELD’s offices,” Nick pointed out. “We’re not your enemies Cap.”

The Cap sighed and stopped beating the bag, then gave him a look which left Nick a bit unnerved. There was disbelief, and distrust, those he expected, but there was a flash of something… Something which could have been fear but it had passed too fast from him to be certain of it.

Steve just looked at Fury, as it was clear the Director was on to him. Although the master spy did not have the whole facts. It was clear the older man wanted his trust, but Steve was not sure he could give it to Fury, not after what was done to him.

He was aware torture was illegal, which did not necessarily mean it did not happen. Proof enough was the fact Kraft and his minions had tortured him, besides that other THING they did to him. The torture he could accept, and deal with up to a point. It was awful, it had hurt like hell, it left him feeling helpless, but it was not the first time something like that happened to him.

Steve was not sure if he could reveal the torture to the man, much less that other thing. It was mostly because he did not believe Fury would actually do something about it. Sure the Director had threatened Kraft, but those words had fallen on deaf ears. He had ended at the mad scientist’s mercy less than an hour after those threats were issued.

“When I went under we were at war,” Steve chose to say ignoring Fury’s last words. It was something he would have said had he truly been from the forties. “I wake up, they say we won. They didn’t say what we lost.”

Which was true since Johnson and Lozano told him nothing, and he stopped attending their supposed ‘lessons’ after only three meetings. Steve wondered if those two had reported to Fury about it, but he suspected they did not. Steve had only received a memo from an agent Hill, who he learned was Fury’s second in command, to report to the New York City Offices every other day.

Much as he wanted to, he clearly was not getting more time with the punching bags. So with a sigh Steve worked on removing the bandages he used on his hands instead of tape. His trainers in the past had taught him to use the bandages to protect his hands, and while he did try the tape the first time at the gym once in the present, he had not liked it.

“We made some mistakes along the way,” Nick admitted. “Humanity, as a whole, does not seem to learn much from their mistakes; some of them were made very recently.”

“Are you here with a mission, Sir.” Steve asked curious, although he was not sure how he felt about that.

Steve had been fooling around the past two weeks, but in the end he had become a soldier during his time in the past. It was part of who, and what he was for nearly two years; so Steve was not sure he would refuse whatever it was Fury wanted him to do. Because, to be truthful, he really was starting to need some ‘real’ action.

“I am,” Nick admitted, although a bit regretfully.

He believed it was too soon to send the young man out on missions. In his mind, Rogers had just left a war two weeks ago, after experiencing a near death situation. Normally Nick would have given any of his people at least a month’s leave, plus mandatory therapy, the later of which Rogers had refused, but they were in dire need of his abilities, specially those as a leader.

“Are you trying to get me back in the world, Sir?” He was not sure a mission was the way to achieve that, because Steve was quite willing to be out in the world, if only SHIELD left him alone.

“Trying to save it,” Nick said showing Rogers the file on the Tesseract they had hurriedly compiled to recruit him and others, as well as the events which transpired the previous day.

Steve could not help it, his knees felt weak when he saw what it was in the file. He sat down trying to hide his shock, and was not sure he was successful. He did not want to deal with the thing again, even though there was a piece of it at home. To make matters worse, Steve never got the chance to read the files on the darn thing he had obtained that day.

“HYDRA’s secret weapon.” He said ominously, not facing Fury as he read what little was in the file.

“Howard fished it out of the ocean when he was looking for you,” Nick chose to inform the Cap. “He thought what we think. The Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That’s something the world sorely needs.”

It really took a lot for Steve not to call bullshit on Fury’s words. There was nothing about unlimited sustainable energy on what he had read of the Cube in that folder. Besides, why would SHIELD be interested in the clean energy market? They were a spying agency after all.

Steve also knew Howard’s main interest had been weapons during, but specially after, the war. They had even designed several together, and Howard had helped him patent the few he designed himself. In fact, it was not until Tony Stark had been kidnapped two years ago, and chose to close the weapon manufacturing plant, that Stark Industries became interested in clean energy.

He closed the file and gave it back to Fury. “Who took it from you?”

Steve was not averse to retrieving the thing, specially if he could find a way to destroy it. He knew, better than anyone alive, the Tesseract was dangerous, and could do more than power things whether it was buildings or weapons.

“His name is Loki. He’s not from around here,” Nick informed the young man.

“Loki? Like the Norse God of mischief and lies?” Steve said and Fury looked astounded at his question, like he truly did not expect him to have ever heard the name.

“You have heard of him then?” He asked surprised.

“I tended to read a lot to pass the time when I was bed ridden,” Steve responded with a shrug. “Norse mythology was interesting when I was a kid. It later became specially so since Schmidt was interested in it as well.” They had needed to know why the Red Skull had such an interest in mythology, which they later realized was how he discovered about the Tesseract’s existence and location.

“I see.” It was rather unexpected. He had not pegged the Captain for a bookworm. “There’s a lot we’re going to have to bring you up to speed on if you’re in. The world has become stranger than you already know.”

“At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me.” He really did. Steve had been born in that century after all. He had seen the recent developments and knew his history, even if it had never been his favorite subject.

“Ten bucks say you’re wrong,” Nick challenged the young man. Who simply packed his things, and made his way out of the gym. “There’s a debriefing packet waiting for you back at your apartment. Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?”

“You should have left it in the ocean,” Steve told him without looking back. There was more but he was not willing to tell Fury about it, so he just made his way out.

* * *

## Seeking info

Steve went back to his temporary home. As Fury told him, there were several folders back at his apartment plus a tablet. At least someone was kind enough to leave the later, but he knew it had not been either Johnson or Lozano, since they believed him a neanderthal. It was probably Fury himself.

Initially Steve thought the same information was on both, but a quick check let him know it was not the case. The folders were only the dossiers on the people SHIELD was getting together to search for the Tesseract. The tablet had video from the prospective team members in action, as well as one of Loki’s arrival, and a bit of data from the research being done to the Tesseract.

Steve sat at his kitchen table and just stared at the things they left him. He needed more information than what SHIELD provided, just from the Loki video alone he could tell there was more. He had seen at least two more CCTV cameras in the chamber where they kept the Tesseract, but they only provided a short video from another camera. He also suspected there was more to the Tesseract than what they provided him with.

He needed to obtain information which was not cleaned up for his benefit. What they ‘thought’ he should know, as opposed to what he really ‘needed’ to know to get a good picture of the problem, and what he was up against. Making up his mind, Steve took a quick shower and changed. He was sure his minders would not be paying much attention to him tonight, when he had ‘homework’ to do.

Steve left through the fire scape, and made his way home. Paying close attention to his surroundings to detect any tail on him. Thankfully there was none. His Ma worked the night shift, so she was not going to be home. But it was better this way, he had a lot to do, and not as much time as he would like for a family reunion.

He entered the apartment from the window in his bedroom, despite it being on the second floor, it was no real problem for him anymore. The window did not lock, so it was easy to open it. It was dark, but Steve could see his Ma had left the room exactly like he had it the day he left. For a moment he thought the asthma was back as he felt his chest tighten, and had difficulty breathing. It passed after a few moments though. He was finally home, but he could not stay.

Steve located his flashlight, and turned on the computer. Bob, as he had named it when he bought it a couple of years ago, was very happy to see him and be able to do things for him again. Bob had missed him very much. Steve patted him affectionately, as he too had missed his trusty computer. He truly wished he had more time to simply chat, and surf the net. Unfortunately he could not linger.

He located a pen drive where he could store the files he obtained of the Tesseract, as well as some of his code. Those things he had written and which might come in handy. Steve instructed Bob to transfer the files he needed to the pen drive, while he went in search of the blue gem.

After seeing so many HYDRA weapons back in the forties, Steve had concluded the gem was actually the crystallized energy the weapons used. From the size, he knew it had belonged to a tank. There had thankfully not been many of them, and the Commandos and him had managed to destroy nearly all of those available before they stormed Schmidt’s base in the Alps.

Steve knew the energy in the containers usually dissipated once the weapon was destroyed, so it was strange to have a solid form of it. His only guess was that maybe a tank, or the storage container, survived and all that time had somehow crystallized it. Not a sound theory, but it was the only thing he had.

His mother hid the gem in a shoe box under the kitchen sink, which only made Steve smile and shake his head. He wrote her a note informing her he had a mission, and that hopefully after it the surveillance would be over. He would contact her as soon as he could. Then he checked his files had all transferred properly, said goodbye to Bob, turned him off, and left the same way he came in, carrying the pen drive and the gem.

* * *

The night was surprisingly productive. Once he had all his code available, Steve was able to hack into SHIELD easily. Things went much better, as the laptop (which he named Wyatt) was new and more powerful than Bob. It also helped the apartment’s Internet connection was much faster.

He found SHIELD’s mainframe’s security was only slightly tighter than the last time he hacked them. According to SHIELD’s New York City Offices mainframe, the security was geared more towards stopping Stark’s frequent break ins, than stopping anyone else.

Steve found the protections a laughable effort. If they could not keep him out, even when he had been four years without using a computer, they had no chance of stopping Stark. The man was brilliant with computers. Once Steve was in, he accessed anything they had which mentioned the Tesseract, including the other security videos.

While his programs and subroutines were running on the laptop, and he just kept a mental ‘ear’ to make sure they encountered no problems, Steve took the time to go over the information provided by SHIELD.

There were the evaluations of several people which Fury expected would form a response team to the threat by this Loki, which was indeed said _God of Mischief and Lies_ from Norse mythology. An honest to God alien from a place named Asgard.

Steve read about Erik Selvig and his work with the Tesseract, but there was almost nothing technical he could use. They did not expect him to know much, and while he was no expert on gamma radiation, he had actually been the one who discovered the Tesseract powered weapons emitted it.

He had enough background in physics to study gamma radiation, as he had read and researched about it before going back in time. Doctor Bruce Banner’s work on gamma radiation, as well as his work on anti-electron collisions had been specially interesting.

Steve had actually read all the papers doctor Banner had published before he had simply gone off the radar. While to him it had been new and interesting information, it had actually been over eight years since doctor Banner published anything. The scientific community wondered what had happened to him, as there had been no reports of his death. Now he knew it was because Banner became the Hulk.

He had been the one doing the research work on the HYDRA weapons and the energy powering them, with Howard’s assistance. Although the millionaire could not dedicate as much time as he wanted to it because he was involved in so many other projects, which the military named more important. Project Manhattan being a prime example.

So while Howard tried to keep up with all the Army’s requests, Steve had done quite a bit of reverse engineering on the weapons and tanks they had taken from that HYDRA base near Azzano. Colonel Phillips had been shocked to discover he had a brain, and spoke science babble as well as Stark.

The Colonel saw the advantage of having a soldier with the mind of a scientist under his command, and chose not to undermine his usefulness to the SSR again. He contrived to get him lab time so Steve could work on the HYDRA weapons. Thanks to Colonel Phillips finally believing he was more than a chorus girl, Steve had found ways to harness the energy from those weapons to power the ones he designed for the allies.

Steve had managed to make his weapons more efficient as well, so his designs needed less than a fourth of what the HYDRA ones did, while still being as deadly. These weapons were to be a last resort, because he truly feared they would be misused. It was also why he never designed any type of bomb, or projectiles.

He also chose to never document the process he devised to harness the Tesseract’s power. He was truly concerned of what would happen if he did. The Atomic Bomb was enough of a nightmare, and he knew any Tesseract powered bomb would be at least ten times worse. So he chose to take the secret to his grave when he crashed the plane, and which he still would now that he was found alive.

Not long after he started his search algorithms located Selvig’s notes, and Steve downloaded all information he found into the tablet, which he named Thelma as it had a distinctive female tone to its voice. It was warm, and shockingly southern. She was also of Stark design, which was guarantee for power and quality.

Thelma was quite impressive, and had enough capacity for all he needed to do, plus all his code. It was very easy to connect through her to SHIELD’s mainframe, and he did not have to do as much of the processing as he had done with old Bob, or Wyatt.

She could do quite a lot by herself once Steve showed her what he needed. It left him free to work on other things, like analyzing the security footage from Loki’s arrival and subsequent battle and theft, as well as have Wyatt take care of the research. As he worked along with the tech, Steve could not deny he had been missing the mental challenges a lot.

* * *

## Coulson

Early the next morning an agent picked him up, and drove him to a SHIELD’s air base not far from the city. Steve had ended on a plane sooner than he expected; a rather modern looking one. He had been fearing some sort of flashback, but was surprised to be handling the flight rather well.

He kept his mind occupied with all the information he got last night, and with hearing the surprisingly comforting chatter of the aircraft’s electronic equipment. They sensed he was uncomfortable, and since he was the first technopath they encountered, they wanted to reassure him.

The equipment told him he was safe on board the quinjet, they were at the peak of their operational status, and had just been through maintenance. The humans in charge had flown them often, and were quite experienced, so there was nothing to worry about .

Some of the equipment even gave him tidbits of how they operated, while Thelma crooned softly to him while she processed things. It was not a song he recognized, and he had no clue where she had come in contact with it, but it was indeed soothing his nerves.

Thelma had taken a liking to him, which was no surprise as he was the first technopath she encountered, and he too liked her, so he asked the agent travelling with him if he could keep her. To which the man responded he could.

“So, Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?” This was not common knowledge, but it did explain why the doctor had not published anything in a very long while.

First it had been top secret work for the military, trying to recreate the Super Soldier Serum, then it had been because doctor Banner became the Hulk and went on the run. Well, it seemed the man had been on the right path, although the serum might not have been yet to the stage the Red Skull had taken it. To Steve it was also clear the doctor had not been the right candidate to test it on.

“A lot of people were,” Phil Coulson informed him, as he observed his hero frown a bit disapproving. “You were the world’s first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine’s original formula.”

“Didn’t really go his way, did it?” Steve asked.

Getting the serum had been a very painful process, and there had been rays involved. The Vita Rays, which had a frequency similar to gamma rays. But as far as Steve knew, no one had worked on them after Erskine’s murder, at least not openly. He had always wondered why Howard Stark had stopped any studies on them, and it puzzled him even more so after being friends with the man.

“Not so much. When he’s not that thing the guy’s like a Stephen Hawking,” Phil told him, and when Captain Rogers turned to look at him he added before his hero could ask. “He’s like a smart person.”

“Yeah, I know who he is, brilliant man, and the comparison to doctor Banner is quite accurate.” The doctor was indeed an incredibly intelligent man, a genius in his own right. “As to Stephen Hawking, he has some very interesting theories, but I have not had enough time to study them in depth.”

Steve could see agent Coulson’s eyes were wide as saucers. There was nothing indicating he could not keep his ‘mess with SHIELD and its agents campaign’ while on a mission for them. His own file had been amongst those the tablet contained, and there was nothing in there indicating he was more than a soldier, as well as an aspiring artist. So knowing science should throw them in for a loop.

“I’m not too interested in Cosmology as a whole anyway,” he went on as if he had not noticed the agent looked shocked. Mentally he smirked. “I’m more interested in the physics and mathematics involved. Like his use of quantum mechanics, and Einstein’s theory of relativity to support his own theory.”

Phil just stared for a moment at a loss of words. The least he expected was for the man to be interested in science, and he apparently was capable of understanding it. Somehow his hero, Captain America, had a Stark moment. It was… terrifying to think what would happen if Captain Rogers got along with the remaining Stark.

“I didn’t know you were interested in science,” Phil finally commented after his shock.

“Only very few people knew. It was one of the reasons Howard and I became friends,” he chose to tell the agent. “We spoke the same language.”

Then he went back to Thelma. Since Coulson had already told him he could keep it, Steve had been using the trip to integrate his coding into it, as well as get rid of any bugs. Thelma was quite happy to help him with that, and would warn him if any new bugs were planted.

“I gotta say it’s an honor to meet you officially,” Phil began.

Steve looked at Coulson and thought slightly horrified, _‘Dear God, he’s about to have a fan-boy moment,’_ and there was no where to hide. He disliked being famous, but understood it had been inevitable. With a mental sigh, Steve managed a half hearted smile, with a bit more sleep he would have probably resorted to his USO one. But he did wonder when the agent met him unofficially.

“I sort of met you, I mean, while you were sleeping…”

_‘He did WHAT?’_ He thought alarmed, and for an instant he almost lost it, as he was reminded of what Kraft did to him.

He had lost consciousness before they were through with him, and he had no recollection of how he ended in the room the awoke in the next day. Steve believed they had left him there since Kraft could not keep him in a lab, which was why he was giving Fury the benefit of the doubt even if he did not feel he could be fully trusted yet. Did Coulson meet him then? Steve managed to keep a bland facial expression only by sheer stubbornness.

“I mean, I was present…” Phil kept babbling trying to correct what he was saying, but only digging himself deeper.

Steve mentally shuddered, and a small tremor did make it down his spine. _‘When? When did he see me?’_

“When you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it’s really just a huge honor to have you on board.” He finally managed to say something right.

Steve almost had a panic attack when the agent mentioned being there when he was unconscious. He had been too vulnerable and at their mercy then. But from what he had gathered when Kraft stormed into Fury’s office, the madman had not gotten hold of him then. Barely managing to keep a semblance of calm, Steve looked at the agent.

Coulson was more of an avid fan boy than the evil mad scientist, so… perhaps there was nothing more to it than the fact the agent had seen him while he was being defrosted. Still, he was unnerved, so when Coulson came closer, Steve stood up and put some distance between them. He tried to do it casually so the agent would not notice and ask questions.

“I hope I’m the man for the job.” Which was true, he really hoped he could be of some used in locating the God forsaken Cube.

Steve did know more than SHIELD thought, but he still was not feeling confident. Never mind he was not in top fighting condition. He had not slept much, and had eaten less than was usual for him, and at times he had had to force himself to finish what was on his plate. Then there was the fact things could go really wrong with the Tesseract involved, and not enough knowledge about it.

“Oh, you are. Absolutely,” Phil said with total conviction. “Ah, we made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input.”

Steve mentally cringed, that did not sound good. “The uniform?” He asked anyway. “Aren’t stars and stripes a little old-fashioned?”

They were in his opinion, and while the uniform he designed in the forties had been what was needed to up the troops and the country’s morale, Steve did not think it was right for modern times. He had actually designed himself a new, and very neat uniform; something more discrete.

“Everything that’s happening, and the things that are about to come to light people might just need a little old-fashioned.” Phil told the Captain seriously. He had already seen what the Tesseract and Asgardians could do.


	5. The Helicarrier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.  
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes._  
>  **Author's Note:** Well another long chapter, but all of the Avengers make an appearance here. I added an author's note at the end of the chapter, just some comments about things I did.  
>  Also, in the last chapter I wrote Steve was born in the year 2000, which was a mix up with a previous plot I had for this story since I wanted to make him 15. It could work, and I'm probably going to use the idea in another story, but for this one Steve's sixteen. I'll correct the chapter so Steve's year of birth would be 1999.  
>  **Total size without notes:** 6,275  
>  _ **Keys:**_  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## The Helicarrier

They landed on board a huge ship, an aircraft carrier. Its deck was teaming with activity, and there were several other jets there. While it was massive, Steve did not consider it was enough for Fury to win their bet, and neither were the different types of aircraft he could see on deck. He had been on board other aircraft carriers before, as well as seen all of those planes, except for the quinjet.

When the quinjet's hatch opened Coulson led him off their transport. Steve said farewell to all the aircraft's equipment, and thanked them for keeping him distracted, then he followed the agent carrying a back pack with his gadgets. He left on board the duffle bag with some changes of clothes and toiletries he brought, since Steve had no clue how long the mission would take, and it was better to be prepared. Coulson told him a staff member would deliver it to his temporal cabin on board the ship; he ranked high enough to have a private, albeit small, one.

Steve had chosen casual and comfortable attire for the trip. Khaki cargo pants, a light blue shirt, his brown bomber jacket, and brown combat boots. He was rather fond of the later, and they were very comfortable; Ray Ban sunglasses complemented the attire. So he left no doubt the fashion statement of the past week would stay. He was definitely not wearing 1940's styles anymore.

Once on deck a beautiful red haired woman, with a body too good to be true approached them. It was all Steve could do not to drool, and check her out. He had seen her dossier of course, it was on the debriefing packet and the tablet they left at his place. Natasha Romanoff, alias the Black Widow.

She was a deadly spy, an assassin, and in the photos part of her dossier he could tell she was a beautiful woman. Still, seeing her in person was... Well... Wow! He really hoped not to start babbling like the mostly inexperienced teenager he was. She was to be a member of his team, and it would not do to give her a bad impression.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers," Phil introduced them.

"Ma'am." He was expected to show at least some 1940s manners. His Ma had indeed instilled some good ones, but surprisingly, so had Bucky since good manners in both time periods were slightly different.

"Hi," she said then informed Coulson, "they need you on the bridge. They're starting face trace."

Steve frowned a bit at hearing that. After the research he did last night, he did not believe they would be able to use face trace to find Loki, unless he wanted to be found. For one, the Asgardian had taken one of SHIELD's best covert ops agents and assassin. Clint Barton knew how to defeat face trace easily, and he was sure Loki would interrogate him for any damaging information on SHIELD. At least that's what he would do in the Asgardian's place.

Then there was the other agent he took, one which SHIELD had dismissed for some reason. Perhaps it was because, unlike Barton, agent Walter Phelps had been with SHIELD for only two years. He was still considered a junior agent, despite being older than Barton, but Steve had looked at the man's resume, and... Well Phelps was not a man he would have wanted under Loki's control.

Phelps had worked ten years in the CIA counter terrorism unit. The man had been one of their highest ranked agents, and had had quite a few people under his command. He left because of personal reasons, which after some more research Steve discovered were to take care of his terminally ill wife, and their three young children. It did not sit well with Steve SHIELD was ignoring this man who had a family waiting for him.

After the woman's death, Phelps looked for a simpler job with more regular hours. He ended working in logistics for SHIELD, in the weapons and specialized equipment acquisition department. For some reason, Phelps, along with Barton and Selvig, had been at Puente Antiguo when Thor visited Earth last year. It was too much of a coincidence that the Asgardian took those three men.

If Loki wanted to recruit America's enemies for his cause, as well as arm them, he had the right guy to do so, and that was not counting whatever contacts Barton had. Steve expected SHIELD's analysts were taking this information into consideration, and they had just not uploaded their work to their mainframe yet, otherwise they were in more trouble than he thought.

Natasha took a moment to admire the man before her. Captain Rogers was indeed a beautiful specimen of the male gender, and he looked well in modern fashion. He carried himself with the confidence she expected of a soldier, but when he noticed her admiring his amazingly round and firm ass, he blushed all the way to his ears. That was... endearing.

"See you there," Coulson told them then went into the command area of the ship.

"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice." Agent Romanoff said as she began walking. He followed and matched her pace. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon."

Steve shook his head, expression slightly pained. He rather not have a repeat of the conversation on the jet... ever. "I don't doubt it," he muttered to himself not expecting to be heard over the noise on the deck.

"Really?" Natasha raised an eyebrow surprised.

Natasha had not expected him to comment. But the pained expression on his face said it all. Coulson had made a fool out of himself, embarrassing the hell out of Rogers in the process. It was hard to believe since Coulson was usually so unflappable, but she had to admit her handler was probably Captain America's number one fan.

"Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" She asked mischievously wanting to see what his reaction would be. It did not disappoint, he blushed again looking rather embarrassed. This let her know the Captain was clearly uncomfortable with being famous. Quite the opposite from Stark.

"Trading cards?" He knew they existed, as he still owned a few. But for a man like Coulson to have them? He was getting more embarrassed by the second.

"They're vintage." She told him

Now Steve looked surprised. Those were the ones printed during the war, when he had been still 'alive'. They were really expensive in mint condition, and very difficult to find. He actually owned two sets in mint condition. They had originally belonged to both his grandfathers but they had passed them on to their only children. His Ma and his Da. His Ma had given them to him when he was eight.

"He's very proud," she informed him.

_'He should be,'_ he thought. As a former wanna be collector and fan he did know how much merchandise about him cost. He was probably going to end signing the trading cards, despite how awkward it would be.

They approached a man who looked rather out of place, and slightly nervous. Steve recognized him, Doctor Bruce Banner, and steeled himself to avoid having what in his mind he was going to call from then on a Coulson moment. He really admired the man's intellect. He had read his work on anti-electron collisions only a few weeks before he disappeared, and skimmed it last night to refresh his memory. It had been incredibly interesting.

"Doctor Banner," Steve called. The man turned to look at them and approached.

"Oh yeah, hi." He said nervously, and they shook hands. "They told me you were coming."

They had actually presented him the dossiers of Captain Rogers, agent Romanoff, Tony Stark, what little they had on the Asgardian Thor, as well as on Clint Barton, and Erik Selvig who were under Loki's control. He had thought it rather odd pto be presented with that information when SHIELD only wanted him to search for their missing radioactive Cube.

"Word is, you can find the Cube." He said just to start a conversation.

"Is that the only word on me?" Banner asked defensively.

"Only word I care about." There was an awkward silence before Banner spoke again.

Steve really was doing his best not to start blurting out all the questions he had about the man's previous work. With Romanoff there he was not sure he wanted to reveal he knew much more about science than his official file implied, or what little he revealed to Coulson. Specially since doctor Banner's work was way too recent for someone from the forties to know about.

Another thing that had piqued his attention was Banner's work on the Super Soldier Serum. Steve wanted to know why he chose to use gamma rays instead of the vita rays from the original experiment, as well as to know if he had taken into consideration the Super Soldier Serum did affect the psyche of the volunteer.

It had not been just a catchy phrase when Doctor Erskine told everyone the serum made _'Good great, and bad worse'_. It was actually the core effect of the Super Soldier Serum, and the reason why Erskine had rejected all of those candidates Phillips presented. They did not have the _'right'_ frame of mind. Perhaps once they found the Tesseract and secured it, he might have the chance to speak with the doctor about it.

"It must be strange for you, all of this." Bruce looked around at the activity on deck. It made him nervous.

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar," which it was. "It is not my first time on an aircraft carrier, but the rest? Yes, it is... different," Steve offered.

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute," Agent Romanoff suggested. "It's going to get a little hard to breathe."

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked thinking he really was going to have to pay Fury the ten bucks if it was. They began walking towards the side of the ship.

"Really. They want me in a submerged pressurized, metal container?" Banner's voice was full of disbelief, and more than a little concern.

_'Good God, this thing flies!'_ Steve mentally exclaimed when he saw the large turbines emerging from the side of the ship, and beginning to displace the sea water as they slowly began raising the massive aircraft into the air.

Yes, Fury managed to impress him with something he did not think was possible yet. The sheer mass of the aircraft was astounding, and it actually flew. Amazed did not begin to cover how he felt. Besides him Banner looked as shocked as he was.

"No, no, this is much worse," Bruce exclaimed horrified as he saw the huge ship start rising. There might have been survivors if the Other Guy got out and sunk the ship, but he doubted there would be if they were flying, not even if everyone had a parachute.

* * *

## The Bridge

Agent Romanoff led them to the bridge. She was walking before them, and his traitorous eyes could not help but check her out. She had one fine behind, and shapely legs. He found he liked her. But she was way out of his league, at least ten years older, not that she looked them; and agent Romanoff was an even deadlier woman than Peggy had been. What was it with him and dangerous older women?

Besides him Doctor Banner actually caught him checking out Romanoff's backside, and Steve blushed furiously. The doctor raised both eyebrows in surprise, but then winked, smiled, himself sparing a quick look, and said nothing. Both knew Romanoff could kill a man twice her size with only a paper clip, so it was better to remain on her good side, ogling her butt, no matter how shapely, was not going to accomplish that.

At the bridge Steve got the chance to gape a little. People were busy with their chores as the ship went higher. He also took the time to block most of the impressive electronic noise. It was slightly overwhelming to be in the same room with so much advanced technology, and all were talking to each other to ensure the ship operated smoothly.

Taking a few deep breaths he calmed his mind, and identified the main consoles, as well as a couple of terminals he could use to interface with the system should it be necessary. He found some of his code was still running on the servers, mapping the system without anyone the wiser. It did find out something rather odd.

There were some cloaked servers which were running parallel to the mainframe. He mentally tweaked his code to allow it to map and index whatever if found on those servers. He did not have enough storage capacity in either the tablet or the laptop to download what he found. So as soon as the mission was over, a shopping trip for additional hard drives was in order.

Perhaps he should also build himself a better system now that he had money. He had been wanting to make his own AI, and while he had already coded quite a bit towards its creation, Steve had been limited by his lack of funds to buy more powerful equipment.

"We are level Sir," Fury's second in command informed him.

"Good. Let's vanish," the Director instructed.

"Engage retro-reflection panels," Hill ordered. The moment he heard about the panels Steve knew he had truly lost the bet.

"Gentlemen," Nick said as he turned towards his two passengers, and approached the meeting table. He saw the Captain take out a ten from his pocket and pay him off without saying a word.

* * *

Steve took his time looking about the bridge. Once he located the terminals where the face recognition search was being processed, he kept a metaphorical ear on them. Although Steve was sure they would not be finding Loki unless the Asgardian wanted to be found, and he wondered if it was not a waste of resources.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Phil informed doctor Banner, "cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

Agent Coulson's words caught Steve's attention. That was some very impressive hacking, and had Loki taken anyone else he was sure they would have him in no time. This also made him even more wary of SHIELD, as he could see it would not be easy to go under the radar with all the resources they clearly had at their disposal.

Then Romanoff told them she did not believe they would find them soon enough despite the technological display, and Steve was inclined to agree. Doctor Banner proposed using as many spectrometers calibrated to detect gamma radiation as SHIELD could get its hands on, and he could take care of the tracking algorithm.

It was not a bad plan at all, specially because the Tesseract clearly emitted gamma rays. But it worried him, he had brought the blue gem on board. In fact it was in the back pack with his gadgets. If there was a spectrometer on board, it would most likely pick the emissions from the gem, and that could affect the search. It was done though, and he would have to see what to do about it if it became a problem.

When Romanoff told them she did not believe they would find them soon enough, she had been looking at a screen with agent Barton's profile. He could see they were still not mentioning the other agent, and Steve was almost certain they had dismissed the man as not important, and most probably collateral damage; which Phelps definitely was not. Never mind the fact the man had three young children waiting for him at home.

He decided to draw their attention to him, so SHIELD would not be caught unprepared should Loki choose to take advantage of Phelp's knowledge and contacts. Steve would need to be careful not to reveal he already knew more than enough about the missing agent, as there was no way to explain it.

"Agent Coulson," Steve called to get the man's attention while Fury instructed Romanoff to show doctor Banner to the laboratory they had prepared for him.

"Yes Sir, what can I do for you?" He asked the Captain solicitously.

"Would it be possible to know the name of the second agent Loki took?" He asked doing his best to look like it was a simple innocent and concerned, question.

"The other agent Captain?" Phil asked a bit surprised. He had no information about the Asgardian taking another agent. "I believe he only took agent Barton and doctor Selvig."

"He didn't," Steve informed him rather surprised this was not something the agent was aware of. "In the video included in my debriefing packet I can clearly see Loki brainwashing an older agent after Barton.

"I was surprised there wasn't any information on him, because Loki killed everyone else, except for Selvig, Barton, and this agent; and the first two have very valuable skills or knowledge. So this man must have something which Loki can use against SHIELD, otherwise he would have been killed like the others."

"Hill," Nick said surprised at the conclusion the Captain reached, and which clearly had slipped the minds of his analysts. He had only been informed the Asgardian had taken a junior agent. "What can you tell me about this agent?"

"In a moment Sir," she said already working on getting the file of their other missing agent. "His name is Walter Phelps Sir, he's been with SHIELD for two years. He..." she trailed off eyes widening as she read the man's profile.

"He what Hill?" Nick did not like the way she trailed off.

"Agent Phelps works in the logistics department, in the weapons and specialized equipment subdivision Sir. He... Worked for the CIA for ten years, and was sub director of the New York's CIA counter terrorism unit for four of those years, until he quit due to personal reasons."

"Son of a bitch!" Nick exclaimed.

That definitely bode no good. He was not pleased, not pleased at all their analysts had easily dismissed Phelps just because he was a junior agent, and some heads were certainly going to roll. Nick could bet his eye patch that between Barton and Phelps, they had access to a good number of people and weapons which would make stopping Loki even harder.

"How the hell did that crazy bastard manage to get his hand on two people who can definitely become a serious threat to us?" Nick demanded. "And I also want to know why the fuck someone with Phelp's credentials is a junior agent?"

"There's more Sir, all three of them were at Puente Antiguo," she told him somberly.

"Hmm... Too much of a coincidence, isn't it?" Steve commented with a slight frown. Well it seemed SHIELD was more inept than he thought. At least they now knew there was possibly more trouble coming their way, and hopefully would design some kind of contingency plan.

"You can say that again Captain," Nick agreed, and he had to admit the younger man impressed him with his observational skills as well an analytical mind. "Well spotted by the way."

"It was part of my job to notice this things Director, and since we're at it, I find it extremely suspicious the fact doctor Selvig did not run like the other scientists. He in fact, stood only a couple of paces behind Loki.

"After the Asgardian killed so many, I would have expected the man to at least keep a... Reasonably safe distance even if his curiosity led him to remain. Either he has absolutely no sense of self preservation, or..." Steve trailed off and shrugged, leaving the rest for Fury to interpret however he chose.

The Director did not disappoint, he began cursing, and ordering people about, demanding answers, as well as requested for some people to meet him in his office ASAP. Steve nodded to him satisfied by the response, at least now SHIELD had better chances of not being caught unawares, should Loki and his people try something.

The implications he left hanging about Selvig would also make them investigate the possibility of Loki having been on Earth before. Most likely when his brother had been in Puente Antiguo. The little town was something all three men had in common, along with the Tesseract.

* * *

Fury and Hill went to what was clearly an office at the back of the bridge, and not long later some other people began trailing in. There was clearly an emergency meeting to deal with the potential threats agent Phelps could add to their already dangerous situation.

The meeting left Steve with apparently not much to do, so he found himself an unobtrusive spot to stand, while he waited to see if face trace found Loki. He rather hoped they did not. As agent Romanoff mentioned earlier, agent Coulson did approach him about signing his trading cards at the first opportunity. Steve had already decided he would do so, but it did not mean it was any less embarrassing. He never liked signing autographs, and neither did he liked being famous.

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble." Coulson was telling him.

"No, no it's fine," he said absently

The code mapping the cloaked servers was finding a lot of resistance, and was risking detection. The fire walls were rather impressive. But unlike a normal computer program, Steve's mind made corrections on the go, and used his own quick thinking to evade detection.

He had to admit being surprised at how different the security for those servers was. The system was actually more intelligent, and was actively searching for intruders. Steve did not think SHIELD had an AI, but the behavior reminded him of one. While he was busy battling with the second set of servers' security, Coulson went on about his trading cards.

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all," Phil said proudly.

Steve did not say anything, his mind too busy at the moment. Although he appeared rather detached to anyone who was looking. He had not had a challenge like that since he tried to break into Stark Industries' servers; and then he had been working against a true Artificial Intelligence.

"Near mint," Coulson went on. "Slight foxing around the edges but..."

"We got a hit," one of the agents surveying the terminals informed them.

But Steve had known the moment there was a match, as he had been linked directly to the terminal. His eyes were already on the screen an instant before the agent had spoken.

"A 67% match. Wait cross match, 77%..."

"Location," Coulson asked becoming all professional and approaching the terminal.

Steve remained where he was, having connected with the terminal and getting the visuals in his mind. Then directed his attention at withdrawing his mapping code. It would be detected if he was not there to run interference and make modifications. He could have accessed the servers directly, but that would most certainly draw attention, which he did not want.

"Captain," Fury called him. "You're up."

Steve just took a deep breath, then he decided to warn Fury. "There's something he wants there, and there are no signs of the people he took. Check for any rare equipment, substance, or high security facility in the city.

"It must be something that might not be readily available elsewhere, and which an astrophysicist would know about. Loki has one of your best operatives, and an expert on terrorists under his control, so I'm not guessing when I tell you he knows about face trace and has decided to play decoy.

"Also check on the possibility of Barton, or that other agent he took and which you don't mention, having the contacts to hire mercenaries. You can't conquer a planet with just three brainwashed minions Director, and since they are not there, we can assume Loki can control them at a distance."

Fury stared at him for a moment, clearly the man had not considered the possibility of Loki extracting information from Barton, or from agent Phelps. Both of which did have the know how and contacts to hire a mercenary army in a blink.

"You heard the man," Nick told his people. "Get moving, I want that information now. Captain," he said the title with a nod of respect. The younger man did not disappoint. The strategist and tactician had come to the fore in a blink, and reached a conclusion none of his analysts had considered yet.

* * *

As he made his way to the lockers were the TAC suits were, Steve began mentally preparing for another plane flight. He still was not comfortable flying. He also had the code dump what he had already mapped into the hard drive of one of the unused terminals on the bridge, encrypted it, and secured it with a password. He would need to find a way to upload that into the cloud storage he had signed in the past weeks without anyone noticing.

An agent led Steve to the locker rooms where his suit was in a type of shrine, set apart from the other TAC uniforms in there. His shield was there though, and it was like seeing an old friend he had not seen in a while. Steve had not realized how much he had missed having his shield by his side.

The suit was... more form fitting than his old one, and he felt exposed. It nearly left nothing to the imagination. But it was not the time to be picky, so he suited up (not an easy feat with how skin tight the thing was), and departed towards Germany.

* * *

## Stuttgart

They arrived to see Loki dressed rather oddly, he wore a golden helmet with two curved horns besides what looked like armor. The Asgardian looked like a reindeer, or some type of crazy mountain goat. He was also keeping a bunch of people on their knees giving some kind of stupid discourse that reminded Steve of another megalomaniac on German soil.

Loki was about to take down an elderly German man who defied him, so Steve asked agent Romanoff to drop him before the man. Just in time too because Loki fired an energy ray from the scepter he carried. The shield blocked it, and sent it back to the caster. It was good to see that just like it did with the HYDRA weapons, the vibranium of the shield blocked those rays.

"You know," Steve began as he walked towards Loki, "The last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

"The soldier." Loki stood up. "The man out of time," he said mockingly.

"I'm not the one who's out of time." Behind him he could hear the quinjet, as the aircraft was called, ready to be his backup.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," Romanoff voice came off the jet's speakers. The Asgardian chose to attack with one of the blue rays.

Steve acted launching his shield at Loki while he was open. It made contact, and ricocheted back to him. Steve caught it and engaged the Asgardian, staff against shield. Loki did pack a wallop, but he had been expecting it from what he read on the brother, Thor.

They traded blows, and Loki got a bit of an advantage when he managed to hit Steve and sent him flying. He landed flat on his stomach, and tried to get up as soon as possible, but Loki was there faster than Steve expected. He ended with one knee on the ground, and the lower part of the scepter pressed against the back of his head in a rather vulnerable position.

"Kneel!" Loki demanded.

"Not today," Steve growled. He was not giving in to that maniac, alien, god, or whatever he was. He managed to extricate himself from that vulnerable position, then round-kicked the asgardian. All in one swift movement. Loki had not expected it.

The fight went on. Then out of the quinjet's speakers some loud Heavy Metal music resounded. Steve was not much of a fan, but his father had been, and his mother still kept his Da's old CD collection and played them on occasion. If he ventured a guess, he would say it was AC/DC.

Then Iron Man came out of nowhere and blasted Loki. Oh man, two of his idols in one day! He would really need to be careful and not do a Coulson, from what he had read Stark had a rather large ego. No need to make it any bigger.

"Make a move, Reindeer games." Iron Man entreated their opponent, while having all his heavy weaponry ready to take the asgardian down.

Steve managed to stifle an unmanly snicker at the fact he and Stark had noticed the resemblance of that helmet to a deer's antlers. Then he moved to stand besides Iron Man, just as Loki did something to change his armor into what Steve supposed was normal Asgardian wear. Loki used magic most probably.

"Good move," Iron Man said powering down his weapons.

"Mr Stark," Steve said still panting a bit from his fight with Loki.

"Captain," Stark returned.

They handcuffed their prisoner and boarded the quinjet. It was their transport back to the helicarrier, which Steve found was the name of the big airship acting as SHIELD's mobile command center. The aircraft took off, and they made their way back, with Iron Man on board as well.

Steve stood thoughtful, not liking how easy it was to capture Loki. Something was afoot, and he just knew it. The Asgardian's people were no where to be found, but apparently their mission was accomplished. Romanoff told them they had stolen a large piece of iridium.

They had secured the scepter as well, and Steve had taken a good look at it. The scepter, which also morphed into a staff, had a gem much like the one which transported him to the past, although larger. It glowed softly, and was making Steve rather twitchy on top of everything.

"I don't like it," Steve whispered to Stark.

"What, Rock of Agers giving up so easily?" Stark whispered back.

"I don't remember it being so easy. This guy packs a wallop. They rarely give up, unless they have an ace in their sleeve."

"Still, you're pretty spry for an older fellow." He had seen the Captain take on Loki before he decided to intervene.

Steve turned to keep an eye on their prisoner, and keep from laughing out loud. If Stark only knew. The billionaire was actually the true older fellow. He was nearly forty-two, while Steve was barely legal to drive, never mind drinking in the 21st century.

"What's your thing, Pilates?"

"What?" Steve asked a bit confused as to what that had to do with anything.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things doing time as a Capsicle," Tony told the man, who looked shockingly younger than he expected.

If Stark thought he was going to have fun easily at his expense, he had another thing coming. "My thing," he stressed a bit, "are Tai Chi, Yoga, and I just started practicing Parkour. How about you Stark?" Steve asked blandly, then added, "chronologically I may be older, but in years lived you're about double my age."

Tony gaped, that was absolutely NOT what he was expecting from Captain America. "I'm not that old," he protested offended. "You're what, twenty-six?"

"According to the info on my enlistment form, that would be my age, yes." He did not outright confirm it was true, but neither did he deny it, he just left it open enough for interpretation to mess a bit with Stark.

Tony narrowed his eyes. Did the good Captain just admit to lying on his enlistment form? That answer had been surprisingly vague, and rather unexpected. "How come you know those disciplines when you spent a lot of time as a Capsicle, didn't they just thaw you recently?"

"Tai Chi and Yoga aren't new Stark," Steve responded. "Both have been around for a few hundred years."

Yoga had not been 'new' to some people back then either. While not wide spread there were more practitioners than people in the future would think. It had been a fad in some circles, and some rather famous people practiced Yoga since the thirties. On the other hand, Tai Chi was practically unheard off by anyone not of Chinese origin, so he had been an oddity.

"They were both a surprising help with my asthma back then. They were the only type of exercise I could practice," Steve added, and the billionaire gaped. Stark was not SHIELD, but there was nothing to say he could not mess with him too. "I heard they are using them now for that purpose as well. I was also one of the few Yoga instructors in Manhattan before I enlisted. It paid much better than my other jobs," he reminisced.

He charged three dollars an hour per person, when the minimum wage at the docks was thirty cents an hour, and Steve usually had a minimum of three students per class at least twice a week. This was why Bucky encouraged him to keep teaching despite teasing him so much about it. It was definitely the better paying job. Then Steve chose to change the subject before he got melancholic.

"Fury didn't tell me they were calling you in." He could see the older man did not like the change.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you," he snarked a bit.

"I never had any doubt of that," Steve admitted. Fury was too secretive, but then, he was THE Spy.

"What? Not a fan?" Tony was surprised, this was unexpected. Captain America not dancing to Nick's tune?

"Shocking isn't it? He's such a personable fellow, and his many agents such gentle, kind hearted people," the sarcasm dripped from his voice.

His response shocked a laugh out of Stark, a couple of snorts from the cockpit, and even a smirk from their prisoner. The Master Spy reminded him of a bald, dark skinned Dumbledore. Unfortunately his experiences with Doctor Kraft, as well as the agents Frampton, Wilkins, Johnson, and Lozano were _anything_ but good. It took all he had not to visibly shudder, but he surreptitiously put some space between him and Iron Man.

The flight had been going smoothly, then the quinjet entered some unexpected turbulence, and what appeared like a bad electric storm. The instruments in the cabin chattered nervously, as they did not like the static accumulating outside. For his part Loki began getting as nervous as the instruments.

"What's the matter, scared of a little lightning?" Steve could not help mocking Loki for it.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," was Loki's response.

Something landed hard on top of the quinjet at Loki's words, both he and Iron Man suited back up. Then Stark opened the rear hatch. A blond giant boarded. The man... god? Was taller and more muscular than Steve, as hard to believe as that was. He was dressed in some type of armor, and wore a red billowing cape of all things. He was Loki's brother, Thor, if he was not wrong.

Iron Man tried to stop the blond as he made his way to Loki. But Thor pushed him aside like it was nothing, and Iron Man landed on top of Steve. The damn armor was heavy. The blond grabbed a hold of the other Asgardian and simply went back out into the storm.

"Now there's that guy," Tony muttered to himself as he made his way to the open back door.

"Another Asgardian?" Romanoff asked from the cockpit.

"That guy's a friendly?" The file on him said he was, but Steve was beginning to doubt it.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him the Tesseract's lost," Tony responded as he made his way to the rear hatch. His intent clear, he was following the Asgardians.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack." Steve called trying to stop him. They did not know if Thor was a hostile or not at the moment.

"I have a plan, attack!" Stark said before launching off the quinjet.

Steve just sighed, talk about impulsive, and he was the real teenager on board. Stark was supposed to be an adult; but then one was young only once, immaturity though, could last forever. Which was clearly Stark's case. There was not much he could do but follow as well, so he grabbed a parachute and suited up.

"I'd sit this one out Cap," Romanoff suggested.

"I don't see how I can." He responded as he finished securing the parachute. Steve was not willing to leave the success of the mission on Stark's impulsive hands. "Someone clearly has to baby-sit Stark."

Natasha snorted. "Too true Cap. But these guys come from legend. They're basically gods." She informed him.

"I've read the legends. Let me tell you though, if they are not from Earth, then they are aliens. Besides, there's only one God Ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." He grabbed his shield and followed them down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Note:** Another note here, just a bit of an explanation about the OC, which is not quite an OC since I did go over the movie in detail, and Loki did brainwash another SHIELD guy... Or perhaps he was a NASA guy ::shrugs::
> 
> Anyway, it just really bothered me that they never mention Loki took that other guy. He was just a bit player, probably just filling, but for the same reason, the movie plot would have worked the same way if this guy was not there. You know, why take the guy if he was not going to be used for anything?
> 
> Well, the guy, which now has the name of Walter Phelps, will still just be a bit player, but now he has an identity, and is helping move the plot as well as letting Steve show a bit more of his abilities.


	6. Lightning Rods and Tin Cans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I don’t own the Avengers, I’m just borrowing them. I’m using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
>  **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU, **Completely totally AU** , Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, Swearing (Mostly Fury and Tony), OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes._
> 
>  **Author’s Note:** This chapter is not as long as the previous ones, but it will probably be the norm for the following chapters. Thanks to those who have reviewed, I hope you like this chapter, and I probably post chapter 7 around Tuesday.
> 
>  **Total size without notes:** 5,498
> 
>  ** _Keys:_**  
>     
>  “Speaking aloud.”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_  
>  _’Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech'_

## Lightning Rods and Tin Cans

Steve landed in a forest, but it did not take him long to find where the Tin Can and the Lightning Rod were. The forest was practically alight with their fight, and the sounds of it reverberated all over the area as well. He trotted to them, and found a high vantage point.

When he saw they were about to start pounding the stuffing out of each other again, as well as destroying the whole forest, Steve decided to intervene. He threw off his shield to separate them. It ricocheted from Thor’s head (what were Asgardians made of? A human would have been knocked out at the very least), to Iron Man’s chest, then back to his waiting hand.

“Hey,” he shouted to call their attention, and both turned to stare at him, their stances were very much like those of kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. “That’s enough!” He jumped off from the high point he had found, landing rather gracefully if he said so himself. “Now, I don’t know what you plan on doing here,” he told the blond.

“I’ve come here to put an end to Loki’s schemes.” The Asgardian responded.

“Then prove it,” Steve challenged.

“Put that hammer down,” he instructed.

“Yeah… No,” Stark babbled. “Bad call, he loves his hammer.” Then the Asgardian punched him hard, and it sent him flying out of the way.

“You want me to put the hammer down?” The Asgardian demanded, and Steve realized Stark had been right about the hammer. Then the huge blond attacked.

Thor jumped high and came crashing down atop Steve hammer first, who could do nothing more than raise the shield for protection and brace himself for impact. The clash between hammer and vibranium shield released a powerful shockwave, which the shield protected him from, but it devastated the perimeter. It was strong enough to send Thor flying, and the same happened with Iron Man.

“Are we done here?” Steve asked a bit shakily as they all somewhat made it to their feet.

They stared at each other looking rather abashed after they took in their surroundings. A good area of the forest around them was completely levelled; with the area where Steve had stood as the epicenter of the destruction.

* * *

## Back on the Helicarrier

The rest of the flight had been done in silence. None of them were feeling the need to speak while they had other concerns in mind. Steve did notice the animosity between the brothers, as Loki would glare at Thor every once in a while. The blond giant just looked unhappy about it, but said nothing.

For his part, Stark seemed preocupied with the condition of his suit. It had taken a beating back in the forest, so he was running diagnostics with the help of his AI, JARVIS. Which was the reason why Steve did not try to link to the suit, or any of the electronics in the quinjet. That AI knew him from his attempt to infiltrate Stark Industries’ mainframe.

Steve was sure JARVIS would recognize him, and he rather not reveal he was a time travelling technopath to anyone. Because it would not be too hard to put two and two together, as his attempted break in had been back in November, several months before he was found and defrosted. So as much as he wanted to know how the suit ran, he kept his mind to himself.

Once they were back in the helicarrier they moved to the bridge and the meeting table while Fury threatened Loki. They got a live feed and had the chance to observe their interaction. A gut feeling, and he had learnt to pay attention to those, kept telling Steve there was more going on.

Loki had to have something in mind, because to Steve it seemed the Asgardian actually wanted to be captured, like it was part of his plan all along. Like Loki was not just a decoy to cover the iridium theft. Why else had he not escaped back in the forest when he still had the chance? The Asgardian had simply stayed there, observing amused while Thor and Iron Man had a go at each other.

Even caged, as he was at the moment, Loki clearly thought he had the upper hand. He knew he was being watched, information which he most likely obtained from Barton, and played to the camera like a diva would. Practically lapping up the attention.

It bothered Steve that Loki was trying to put a wedge between SHIELD and the members of the team assembled to retrieve the Tesseract. Because, while he was not saying the name out loud, Loki clearly pointed out the cage where he was had been made to contain the Hulk. Or at least attempt to do so.

Steve could see the comment made doctor Banner slightly uneasy, but also doubtful. Like he did not believe such a cage would be able to contain the Hulk. He was also inclined to believe it would not, the green giant was incredibly powerful and strong. Despite the uneasiness, the scientist chose to say nothing about the Asgardian’s implications.

Thor, the brother, looked thoughtful. He was the one Steve needed to talk to as he would know his brother best. Perhaps the blond Asgardian would shed some useful information about Loki’s plans, or at least his normal M.O.

“How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?” Loki was telling Fury with disdain in his voice.

It was clear to Steve the Asgardian had inside information on the members of the Avengers Initiative, which he only knew about because of last night’s hacking. But then Fury did consider agent Barton as a possible member for the team before the initiative was scrapped.

As he watched Fury and Loki, Steve had deployed his code again, but had it ignore the cloaked servers until he could dedicate it more of his attention. As his code started doing its job, he spared a moment to wonder just how much inside information about SHIELD was Barton privy to, and how damaging it would be for them in the hands of their enemy. Steve would have also liked to know what went on in the meeting Fury held earlier, but was aware the man was not going to tell him anything.

“How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can’t hope to control.” Fury was telling the Asgardian, but to Steve Loki looked too confident and amused at those words. He might actually be able to control the Tesseract, and it probably was not just bluffing. “You talk about peace, and you kill because it’s fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.”

“Ooooh,” Loki began mockingly. “It burns you to have come so close.” And Steve’s knew his next words might confirm his suspicions, or at least give him more clues about what SHIELD was doing with the Tesseract. “To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? _‘A warm light for all man kind to share?’_ And then to be reminded what real power is.”

Steve knew then and there. Using the Cube to provide an unlimited source of energy for the world was the least thing in Fury’s mind; contrary to what the man implied when he presented the mission to him last night. Hell, SHIELD clearly never intended for anyone to learn the Cube had been found and retrieved, much less to use it for the purpose Fury tried to sell to him.

Then there was still the question as to what, an agency such as theirs would want with the Tesseract. They had it in their hands for over fifty years, and from what he read they had not done much with it. A the moment the only thing Steve could think of was to use it for the same reason HYDRA did back in the forties. To make weapons.

Steve mentally linked with to Thelma again, which he had in the back pack at his feet under the table, along with Wyatt. He then deployed a search algorithm into the Helicarrier’s mainframe to locate any information about weapons development, as well as production of them, based on the Tesseract as an energy source.

He made sure his search would run hidden behind the many processes running on their mainframe. It would be slow going, and would take much longer to get answers, but Steve was not ready for SHIELD to find out someone was snooping around their systems. Specially when that ‘someone’ was on board the Helicarrier.

“Well, let me know if ‘real power’ wants a magazine or something.” Fury mocked as he made his way out of the cage room. But to Steve it was clear the Asgardian got a little too close with his jab.

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Banner commented once the live feed was cut. He had remained standing, and while he had appeared absent, it was clear he was indeed paying close attention to what transpired in the detention block.

“Loki’s gonna drag this out,” Steve told them. There was no doubt in his mind. The Asgardian was clearly enjoying antagonizing them too much to be any good for them.

“So, Thor, what’s his play?” He asked the Asgardian.

“He has an army called the Chitauri,” Thor began thoughtfully. “They’re not of Asgard, nor any world known.”

Thor wondered how Loki managed to make contact with them, and get the chance to speak with their leader. What he did not wonder about was Loki’s ability to talk whoever ruled the Chitauri into backing him up in his quest to conquer Midgard. His little brother had not earned the title of Silver Tongue for nothing.

“He means to lead them against your people. They will win them the Earth, in return I suspect for the Tesseract.” He informed the midgardian.

“An army, from outer space,” he turned to see Romanoff’s reaction to that. There was a brief flash of… disbelief perhaps, before she schooled her features back to impassive.

 _‘Okay, so alien invasion coming, which explains why he needs the Tesseract. He needs it to open a portal.’_ He was a science fiction geek, he believed in aliens, was actually speaking with one, and fought another. Still, accepting an alien invasion was imminent was… hard. It did not bode well for the Earth’s inhabitants. They were not ready to deal with something like that.

At Thor’s words Steve remembered the portal the Tesseract opened for the Red Skull. It was not big enough for the whole plane, and it was clearly not stable. The portal lasted no more than five minutes before it closed again. Loki was clearly aware of this limitation.

Doctor Selvig was probably the key to make it larger and sustainable, and it was the reason why Loki kidnapped him. But the doctor’s notes did not reveal he had that much information about how to accomplish it.

Although, if his suspicions were right, and Loki had had control over Selvig since Puente Antiguo, then… Well the man might have chosen to misdirect SHIELD with his notes and research. He could very well have found a way to estabilize the portal, or the Asgardian himself could have provided the information.

“So he’s building another portal. That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.” Banner reached the same conclusion Steve had.

“Selvig?” Thor asked sounding a bit concerned.

“He’s an astrophysicist,” Banner explained.

“He’s a friend,” Thor told them.

Steve knew the Asgardian had met Selvig, and doctor Jane Foster, when he first came to Earth almost a year ago. The fact Thor considered Erik Selvig a friend was reason enough for an angry brother to target him, and they knew a severe case of sibling rivalry had been the cause for much of the destruction in the small town. The animosity Loki directed at Thor also supported the theory of the first trying to cause harm through Thor’s friends

“Loki’s had him under some kind of spell,” Romanoff finally spoke and was showing some emotion on her face. Steve had noticed she kept them from showing. “Along with two of ours.” She was finally taking into consideration agent Phelps had also been taken, although clearly Barton was the more important to her.

“I’m curious Thor, did Loki happen to visit you at some point while you were at Puente Antiguo?” Steve asked and he got sharp looks from Romanoff, Hill, and even Banner. Now that they knew the town was something all three men had in common, it clearly was not hard for them to deduct where he was going with his question.

“Verily, he did visit, when I was a prisoner of the SHIELD. Loki came to inform me the Allfather had fallen into the Odin sleep,” Thor responded frowning a bit.

Thor was not a stupid man, and could imagine where the midgardian was going with that question. Much as he wanted to believe Loki would not resort to using his friends to hurt him, Thor knew he was quite capable of it. Unfortunately Loki had always been vindictive, and patient enough to wait for the right time to carry whatever revenge he planned.

“Did he stay long?” Steve asked next.

“Nay, he was only in the room for a short time,” he admitted thoughtfully.

“Legends mention your brother is a powerful sorcerer,” he began, “so, is there a way he could have stayed without you, or anyone else noticing? Also, is there a…” Steve paused searching for the right word, “spell which allows him to control people from a distance?” Agent Hill actually startled at this last question.

“Loki is indeed one of Asgard’s most powerful magic users, second only to our mother, Queen Frigga,” Thor admitted. His eyes looked far away for a moment as he remembered some of the tricks his little brother used to play on him when they were children. "He is very capable of moving about unseen, it was actually one of his favorite tricks as a child.

“Son of Rogers I believe from your last question you want to know if Loki has had Erik and your people under his control since I was last here, correct?”

“Yes Thor, that would be correct.”

“Sorcery is not something I am well versed in,” he began slowly. “But I do know there is one such a spell. A foul spell which requires much power. Loki is indeed powerful, but even he would not be able to control three people from the Void. He fell shortly after I went back to Asgard, and we had believed him dead.”

“How about just one person?” Natasha asked realizing where Rogers was going with those questions.

“Verily, one midgardian would be within his ability to control from afar, and for such a long period of time. The SHIELD’s people he took are warriors, and warriors are usually stronger willed, as well as wary. They would be harder to control for such a lenght of time and distance; but Erik is… More friendly and trustful… You suspect he was controlling Erik since then?”

“He seems the most likely person Thor,” Steve told him. “Because how else did Loki know Selvig was the one he needed to work on a sustainable portal?” Steve voiced what was on his mind and got stares from everyone. “It’s clear to me from what information I was given, which was pitiful actually,” he said directing a pointed look at both agents Hill and Coulson, "that Loki especifically targeted him.

"The others might still be a coincidence now that you have confirmed Loki could not have kept under his control more than one person; and I don’t think there would have been a way for him to know agents Barton and Phelps would be in the Tesseract room when he arrived.

“Loki most likely just seized the opportunity to get some useful minions under his control. But Selvig was the lead scientist studying the Cube. So he would have been where the Tesseract was.”

“I do not like where you’re going Captain,” Maria said frowning. “Doctor Selvig has been in charge of the Tesseract’s research since the events at Puente Antiguo.”

“This could mean whatever information doctor Selvig reported he obtained from the Cube might not be accurate,” Bruce was frowning as well, “or he could have omitted crucial developments in his research.”

This could be a terrible set back. Bruce would have to double check all data from Selvig’s work. The research the astrophysicist had done on the Cube had been extensive, and it might well take him over a month to go through every reading and test reported. But without the Tesseract he could not confirm the readings obtained were one hundred percent accurate.

“And that would be a problem doctor Banner?” Maria wanted to know. They were on a time constraint to locate the Cube. Specially if Loki was planning an invasion.

“It could be, but I won’t know for certain until I start analyzing the scepter’s gem,” Bruce told her.

“So Thor,” Steve began thoughtfully, “we’ve established your brother is a powerful sorcerer, for this reason I want to know why Loki let us take him. He could have escaped easily. In fact, he actually had the opportunity to do so while Iron Man and you were having that disagreement down in the forest, yet he did not leave, why didn’t he? Because it’s obvious he’s not leading an army from here,” He pointed out.

“I don’t think we should be focused on Loki,” Bruce informed them. Their priority should be locating and retrieving the Tesseract. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him.” The Other Guy actually did smell it, and disliked it immensely.

“Have care how you speak.” Thor did not like what Banner implied. “Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he’s my brother.”

“He killed eighty people in two days,” Natasha pointed out matter of factly. Face expressionless.

“He’s adopted,” Thor changed his tune so fast Steve was hard pressed not to snort, and he was not the only one.

“I think it’s about the mechanics. Iridium, what do they need the iridium for?” Bruce thought aloud.

“It’s a stabilizing agent.”

Steve muttered to himself at the same time Stark, who was coming into the bridge with Coulson, said the same thing. They all heard him though, and they stared rather dumbfounded at the fact he actually seemed to know not only what iridium was, but what it could be used for.

“What?” Steve asked defensively and more than slightly uncomfortable. He was not an idiot, and never had been.

Steve decided then and there he was not going to hide the fact he did have more brains than they gave him credit for. Being treated like he barely had two brain cells to rub together was getting tiresome. Besides, if they knew some of what he was capable of, he might have a chance to study the scepter, and see if it shared any properties with the gem he had. Because he had never seen any HYDRA weapon used to mind control, anyone.

“Contrary to what ‘some’ people think,” he pinned everyone with a challenging glare. “I’m not a fossil from the Cretaceous period, and thus I did not find out what Iridium was because of it.”

Stark and Banner let out surprised chuckles at his comment, and there were a few scattered snickers from some of the consoles operators. They clearly understood his reference to the dinosaurs’ extinction, as well as the fact iridium was what delimited the end of that period and era. It was found in larger concentrations in that geological limit, as it had been part of the comet, or meteor, that crashed on Earth then. Yeah, he had been a nerd with an incredible memory, so sue him.

“I also read the information packet left at my apartment last night. Unfortunately someone decided to leave out relevant information from mine.” He glared again at Coulson and Hill. The others kept staring, and since they were already shocked why not add to it? Steve turned to Banner. “I had to do research on my own.”

Those part of the meeting were nearly gaping, which made him angrier. He directed a challenging look at each and every one of them, then he went on keeping his temper on a tight leash. There was no use in snapping at them, as he did know not even a fourth of what the SSR had about Captain America had been digitized; but someone should have unearthed those records, and read them after he was found alive.

“Fascinating and very useful thing, the Internet,” he mused to throw them off a bit, and by their perplexed looks it worked. They clearly did not expect him to know what it was, much less how to use the search features available. "Anyway, it was not hard to find the research papers you published doctor Banner.

“They look to be very interesting, and I look forward to reading them at leasure, unfortunately due to time constrains I only had the chance to skim the one on the research you did on gamma radiation. I found it quite relevant to the task at hand doctor.”

“What could you know about gamma radiation Rogers?” Maria asked voice filled with disbelief. The man had already proven he was extremely observant, and quite capable of seeing the bigger picture, but for him to be able to understand science as well?

“Apparently more than you think I do Ma’am. Nuclear physics was indeed in its infancy back then, but I had a part time job at the physics labs at Columbia University before I joined the army. I specifically worked at Doctor Isaac Rabi’s lab,” Steve told them as this was something the SSR knew about.

After Phillips realized he knew science, he had to inform them of all the science related things he had done, as well as give them a detailed list of what he had patented up until then. The information was probably in those files SHIELD had yet to digitalize.

“Who?” Maria did not have a clue who that was but both Banner and Stark were looking rather astounded.

“Doctor Rabi won the Physics Nobel prize in the forties. He developed techniques for using nuclear magnetic resonance to discern the magnetic moment and nuclear spin of atoms.” Bruce had been very interested in Rabi’s work when he began his career in Physics, which was why he remembered him.

“He also worked on the radar, and with my father in Project Manhattan,” Tony added. “What did you do for him Capsicle?”

“I began with the cleaning crew,” he admitted, “but he caught me correcting a couple of equations the students assisting him did wrong. After he assessed me I was hired to test and double check their equations, and assist with documenting his experiments.”

“You know advanced mathematics and physics Captain?” Bruce asked surprised.

“Of course I do! You don’t think I just throw my shield around praying _‘hit the target, hit the target and come back to me’_ each time I throw it, do you?” He asked raising an eyebrow, the sarcasm quite evident in his voice.

“You don’t?” Tony asked rather shocked. He had actually seen the man use that shield to hit Point Break, then him, and then it ricocheted back to the Capsicle’s hands, all with just one throw. It had been rather impressive, although he would not admit it aloud.

Steve glared at Stark. “I don’t. I calculate trajectory, angle of throw and of impact, wind and surface resistance, plus the force required, and the desaccelerating factor each time it makes contact with a target.”

“And you do this so fast no one notices,” Bruce was impressed, and he could see Romanoff, Hill, and Coulson had dumbfounded expressions. It seemed no one took the time to think just how Captain America managed those impressive throws, which were actually his signature fighting style.

“Yes, it did take me a couple of weeks to get fast enough to avoid wasting time. But then, getting shot is a rather good incentive.” That got him a few winces.

“We went off track, you were telling us about how you know about gamma radiation Captain,” Maria tried to get everyone to focus.

“Howard was involved with Project Manhattan, and I was his sounding board for anything not classified above a level nine in the SSR, which by the way I was, a level nine that is,” he pointed out.

“I was really not aware you were more than a member of the army Captain Rogers.” History painted that man as more brawn and heart than brains with the exception of his tactical abilities, of which they already had an impressive demonstration earlier.

“Clearly someone did not do their homework agent Hill, or maybe someone forgot to digitalize the reports where it’s proven I do have a brain, and know how to use it.” Stark and Banner snorted, while Romanoff was staring at him like he was a Rubik cube that had stumped her for hours on end. "I was the SSR’s ‘specialist’ on HYDRA weapons.

"I don’t mean just operating them Ma’am. It was part of my job to analize them when I had time in between missions. Time which was something Colonel Phillips tried to provide so I had more chance to reverse engineer them, and replicate the weapons if possible.

“The HYDRA weapons were powered by small concentrations of plasma extracted from the Cube, like it, they emitted gamma radiation. It was low level, and non lethal. Which I can’t say with any accuracy if it applies to the Tesseract as well since the only times I was close to it, I was battling the Red Skull.”

“It seems someone did forget to report you were a physicist and mathematician in your spare time Captain,” Maria said rather impressed.

She and Coulson had read Rogers’ files thoroughly since he was found; but then, they had only accesssed the files available in the database. There was absolutely no mention of the Captain working with Nobel prize Physicists, doing science with Howard Stark, or studying HYDRA weapons in his spare time.

Hell, there was no information on Rogers having a higher education than High School, and maybe Art School. Because according to those files, the Captain had worked as a freelance artist for a publicity agency. But perhaps Fury had found something in the paper files he had been going through before the incident at the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Installation.

“I’m not, at least not a formal one.” They kept staring, and he sighed.

Clearly there were glaring omissions even in the SSR’s top secret files. He understood not revealing that aspect of him to the public, it was not the image the USO wanted to project. But the internal Strategic Scientific Reserve’s files should have mentioned his work. They knew his background, as well as his credentials. He had recommendation letters not only from doctor Rabi, but from a few others he had worked for as well.

"Look, there were no real opportunities back then for an orphan from Brooklyn to attend college, despite having tested out of High School at twelve.

"The City College of New York was free, yes, but I had to work all day, and sometimes nights to help keep a roof over our heads, and pay the medical bills. Bucky was the one who took care of making sure we ate at least once a day.

“But the fact there were no opportunities for me to get a formal education does not mean there were no other ways of learning available if I was interested, which I was. The library was free, and as I already said labs needed cheap assistants.”

“You are self taught,” Banner said with respect coating his words.

“Yes I am, since I was four, and on a good number of subjects by the way.” He was telling no lies, only twisting the truth so he would not be called on it if it came out. While he had tutors when he was being home schooled, Steve had done much of his advanced studies on his own.

“Are any of your notes on the HYDRA weapons available?” Banner asked curiously. “They might be relevant, specially now that we’re uncertain as to the veracity of doctor Selvig’s reports on the Cube and its abilities.” Stark stared at him sharply, like this was news to him, which it probably was since he had not been in the bridge when it was discussed earlier. “Besides, you actually worked with something which came from it, even if you were not able to study the Tesseract directly.”

“I don’t know doctor Banner. The SSR kept all of my work on HYDRA, and the large majority of the gear I designed for the Commandos to use on the field. Do you happen to know what became of them agent Hill?”

“No I don’t,” she lied, “but I’ll have someone check on it.”

Truth be told they did have _“someone’s”_ research notes, an astounding number of very detailed schematics, and even several prototypes of Tesseract powered weapons. The notes had been discovered last year, shortly after the Puente Antiguo incident.

Those notes had provided the breakthrough needed to advance their research on the Cube. They also had some tools and equipment that had to be designed to work with the HYDRA weapons, because back then they did not have anything they could use.

Those designs (weapons, tools, and equipment) were way ahead of their time. They had assumed those were made by either Howard Stark, although the man never mentioned them (which was strange for a Stark), or by some other SSR scientist. Because they were not creditied to anyone.

The weapons schematics had been used without changes to create most of the weapons prototypes for Phase Two, and they happened to be on board the helicarrier. She was not sure Rogers would be pleased to know his designs had been used without his permission.

“I was under the impression Howard Stark was the one who designed the Howling Commandos’ gear.” Maria asked to distract them from the notes. Natasha narrowed her eyes at her, clearly noticing her misdirection, but said nothing.

It seemed there was a lot of information missing on Rogers’ file. No where was it written the Captain was a genius that might have actually surpassed Howard Stark. Testing out of High School at twelve was no small feat, even in the 1940s.

Then there were the schematics for the Phase two weapons. Their scientists and developers believed whoever designed them was a visionary, because none of the technology necessary to produce those weapons had been available in the 1940s.

Maria had to wonder why there was no mention of Rogers research on HYDRA weapons. It was something important, which should have been a priority to digitalize, specially after Howard Stark had found and retrieved the Tesseract. She also wondered why no one had given the Captain credit for his scientific work either. Had it been because he did not have a diploma to prove a higher education unlike the other brains in the SSR?

"He did a few things for us, the shield and my first uniform included, but he had to deal with the rest of the Army requests, and Project Manhattan to booth. Howard simply didn’t have the time. He and I became friends because we had interests in common, and we understood the same language. It was not because we traded fondue recipes.

“Since he was too overwhelmed with requests, I took over the responsibility of outfitting my team. Colonel Phillips approved it after they saw in action the telescopic sight I made for Bucky’s rifle.”

“He was Sergeant Barnes, the Commandos sniper?” Romanoff asked for confirmation, although Steve was sure she already knew.

The original sight and the rifle were actually in a museum in Washington if he was not wrong. Bucky had not taken it on their last mission, as a sniper would not be needed. He had made it as a parting gift before they shipped him to Europe.

“Yes, his full name was James Buchanan Barnes. He was my right hand, and one of the best snipers we had,” Steve said with a lump in his throat. For them it was sixty-six years since Bucky died, but to him it was less than a month. With all that had happened to him, Steve had not had a chance to properly grieve for his older brother in all but blood.


	7. Enter Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU, __Completely totally AU_ _, Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes._
> 
> **Author's Note:** Another long chapter. I've been working and editing all the chapters I've already written for this fic. I originally had 17, covering the whole Avengers movie; but they were really too short about 2,500 words average, so I decided to merge them to get at leas 4,000 words chapters. I think the number will go from 17 to 13 or 14.
> 
> I'll also keep trying to post once a week or week and a half. None of the chapters are beta'ed so any errors are my own. If you see any I would appreciate a word so I can correct them.
> 
> Thanks to those reading the story, and I'll appreciate some reviews (comments) just to see how you're liking the story.
> 
> For any of you reading my Avengers/Harry Potter crossovers, **The Secret Life of Steve Rogers** is on hold for the time being. I just can't get chapter 10 to work even though I have a lot of ideas for the next chapters. **Two for the Price of one** is moving, **FINALLY** so I expect a new chapter would be out soon.
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 5,939
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## Enter Tony

Tony had been coming into the bridge with agent Coulson, and had halted in shock when he heard the Capsicle come to the same conclusion he did. The younger man actually got him to chuckle by snarking at them, while proving he did know what he was talking about, when he mentioned the Iridium.

Of course the reference got lost on most of those present, but Banner did understand it, and surprisingly so did a few of the agents manning the ship. Then he had trouble to keep himself from gaping when he heard the explanation for the knowledge. It was... astounding to say the least.

What he had read and heard about Rogers had never led him to believe the man actually had a working brain, or an interest in science. Hell, his father never mentioned Captain America could be a snarky son of a bitch, or a bit of a troll. But the interlude they had on the quinjet should have clued him in as to Rogers not being as history and memories had painted him to be.

Howard had compared him a lot with Rogers since he was a child, during his many drunken episodes. At times he had indeed mentioned the Captain was a very intelligent man; but his father had never told him to what extent. Rogers was clearly a genius, and Howard knew it. They had scienced together, and on top of that Rogers had also been a soldier.

When his father, aunt Peggy, and the Commandos got together they spoke about the missions they participated in. Tony now had to wonder why the science was never mentioned. Why had they not used Rogers notes to study the Tesseract after Howard found it? Everyone but Peggy Carter was dead, and unfortunately she had Alzheimers, so they might never find the answers.

His curiosity was piqued, and he could see Banner's was as well. Romanoff was looking at Rogers like he was a bug she had not encountered before, or she was thinking of jumping the man right then and there before everyone's eyes. The Capsicle was a very handsome man, even he could tell. Who knew what Natashalie thought behind that impassive mask of hers?

The big blond Asgardian was clueless, but it was to be expected. Tony doubted he had been given a dossier like the rest of them. Hill, Fury's second had stared in shock, but then something akin to respect and curiosity showed in her face. For his part poor Agent was about to swoon... or have a hysterical fan boy moment.

"I never knew." Phil muttered to himself awe struck. "Why was there no info about this? I thought I'd read everything the SSR had on Captain America. But this might explain how he knew about Hawkins theories." He was having a very hard time not to go into fanboy mode in front of so many people at discovering something previously unknown about his childhood's hero.

Rogers comment about fondue made Tony snort. It was an inside joke, and one of the anecdotes his father had actually shared with him during one of his good moments. Howard had enlightened the Captain about what fondue was, since the man thought it meant sex, when they met in his lab for the shield. That had been the beginning of their friendship if he was not wrong. They probably began to science then.

_'Enough with the reminiscence!'_ Tony told himself, it was not the time for it, and remembering Howard was never a good thing. It tended to inhibit his genius, and he would be needing it to find the Cube. With his grand entrance disrupted by Rogers' just discovered abundance of brain cells, Tony decided not to be deterred.

"Having the iridium means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." He walked into the room like he owned it, and this was not the first time he had been in it, which it was.

He had not been 'invited' on board of the helicarrier before. Not that he could blame Nick's paranoia. Tony had to admit he was somewhat impressed with the helicarrier, though he could see there was room for improvement, a lot of it. He would get the schematics and see what he could come up with; once he got JARVIS to hack into their servers and download their databases.

"No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing," he told the Asgardian tower of muscle patting his arm, and he could hear the Capsicle's snort. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants."

"You might have a point there Stark." Steve mused. "The portal the Tesseract opened by itself when Schmidt touched it was not big enough to transport the Valkyrie, nor did it remain open long.

"I suppose it was not stable. It did not even reach the size of half the cockpit," he said thoughtfully. "The Valkyrie was a big aircraft, but nothing like this one. If Loki's moving an army he needs a portal large enough that won't bottle neck his own forces at the entry point. But I think there might actually be a size constraint," Steve mused to himself.

His mind was already working on the logistics of such an event, and how large the portal needed to be in order for the troops to effectively access Earth. Steve believed this would narrow the search for the Cube to big cities within range of large power sources like a nuclear reactor, or large hydroelectric plants.

Steve got lost in thought, and forgot for a moment where he was. He absently pulled the back pack he brought with him to the bridge from under the table. He needed to make notes so he took out Thelma and the stylus that came with her.

He opened one of the better handwritting note taking apps and began writting like using technology was something he had done all his life. Which Steve had for most of it anyway, but no one but his mother knew, and he wanted it to remain that way.

He had an exceptional memory so he did not forget, but it helped to organize his ideas to write them down. There were lists, questions, equations, and even a rough sketch of the portal on the Valkyrie. Steve also began switching between the note taking app and the very advanced scientific calculator app he downloded the previous night. Once again something he did got people staring at him, but this time he did not notice.

"Captain Rogers?" Maria called the soldier, who just ignored her. "Rogers!"

"Leave him be," Bruce said as he studied some of the calculations the younger man was working with. "Those are some pretty interesting equations he's making..." he mused.

"Really?" Tony asked curious and moved to where Rogers was sitting to read over his shoulder like Banner was doing. "That... damn those are very interesting points," he agreed. "But how did he reach..." Tony trailed off looking for the validity of some of the arguments.

"Oh... I see... well yeah, he would know that if he has worked with Cube powered weapons," Bruce mused finishing for Stark.

"Still..." Tony said thoughtfully, "there is not enough data to solve the equations..."

"Yet, we don't have those yet," Bruce corrected.

From what they could understand Rogers was trying to calculate how much power was needed to open a portal of about one hundred yards in diameter. He had insuficient data, but he had already concluded a nuclear reactor, or a very powerful hydroelectric plant would be needed. He had even added a note about finding if there was something else which generated more power than a nuclear reactor.

"Captain Rogers!" Maria called again once the man seemed to take a break. She had gaped at seeing both Stark and Banner looking so interested and impressed.

"Yes Ma'am?" Steve asked realizing he had got lost in his mind, and in front of a bunch of strangers. He tried not to blush, but he was sure his ears were bright red.

"Now that I have your attention back. You witnessed the Tesseract opening a portal by itself before you crashed, and you did not see it fit to inform us of it when you were debriefed Captain?" Hill demanded not at all pleased to be hearing that. She glared at the blond soldier.

"I have not been debriefed Ma'am," he informed her. His voice taking a slightly hard edge.

"Of course you have, agents Wilkins and Frampton were in charge of it."

Steve could not help his reaction to the mention of that 'meeting'. He froze for a couple of seconds as he tried to fight the memories of his encounter with Kraft and his minions, but he was not successful. His control was getting frayed by lack of proper sleep and rest, as well as food. Being reminded about it more than once since he boarded the helicarrier was not helping either.

He tried to take a deep breath, but it instead came in short gasps that Steve tried to control to avoid hyperventilating. As the memories started to force themselves to the fore of his mind, he began trembling, and he actually hugged himself protectively. Steve unconsciously curled up slightly, like he was trying to make himself smaller. His eyes looked lost and haunted.

_'No no no, get a hold of yourself Rogers!'_ he told himself. _'You can't afford a panic attack, not here, not before these people. Don't let them see you weak and vulnerable, you idiot!'_ Steve berated himself. _'Just... Get a grip man.'_

It took all he had not to have a panic attack just then. He had been trying really hard not to remember. Steve did his best to pull himself together, to avoid showing a vulnerability those people could use against him. Unfortunately Steve had given away too much already, and it was quite obvious how shaken he was by the mention of the meeting. He raised a hand to rub his temple, but put it back down when he realized how badly it was shaking, and all had seen it.

"Captain?" Maria asked alarmed. That reaction was so unexpected. What had those idiots done? Torture Captain America?

"Doctor Kraft was there Ma'am," he said dully. "Whatever you want to call it, a debriefing it was not." He took a few deep breaths to steady himself; to keep from curling up into a tight ball to protect himself, but it was hard. "It was not a pleasant meeting."

Steve had been blocking what happened to him then. He had been doing so well the past two weeks, and he could not allow himself to loose it in front of all those people he did not trust. The torture he had been able to take, he had been captured a few times but either he escaped or the Commandos rescued him.

But that other thing Kraft and those people did... it... it had been too much. More than he could deal with, Steve even refused to name It, much less think about It; and yet, it crept on him when he least expected it. The fact he had been unable to defend himself, to fight against the agents, and Kraft only made it worse.

That immobilizing pen had rendered him helpless. It had been worse than the drug they used later, because he had been conscious and completely lucid even when his body was out of his control. Steve had been at their mercy for several hours, which to him were an eternity.

The fact he healed so fast, only added to his problem because there was no evidence of what Kraft and those agents did. By the time Fury bullied him out of the room, everything was healed. Not that the worst they did to him would have left any physical evidence after what they did before. So he had refused to think about It.

"WHAT?" Maria asked in shock.

No, no no no no! Kraft should not have been able to get his hands on the soldier. Director Fury had forbidden the doctor to be even on the same floor as Captain Rogers. The man had wanted to disect the Captain when they first discovered he was alive. He had not cared what he wanted to do might have actually killed the young man.

Keeping Kraft away from Rogers was the reason why Coulson had been stationed with the Captain before he regained consciousness. He was to protect him from the scientist. When he had no access to Rogers, Kraft then had the gall to present a schedule for what could only be describe as torture. Which he pretended to pass as tests to be practiced on the young man.

The Director had been furious, he was not going to allow the doctor to torture someone he wanted on their side. But they had left him alone with Wilkins and Frampton, trusting the senior agents would do as they were instructed. Clearly, Kraft had a longer arm in SHIELD than they thought.

"It should not have happened Captain," Maria told him.

"Yet it did, right after the Director himself told him no," he sounded accusing and much as he tried, the hurt at the action was there as well. It left no doubt he believed he had been betrayed.

"I can assure you the Director does not condone whatever Kraft and his accomplices did to you Captain. Be assured he, Frampton, and Wilkins will be detained and questioned."

Now Maria could understand why the soldier did not trust them. To be subjected to some of what Kraft wanted to do to him after he had been assured he would not be used as a lab rat did not speak well on SHIELD's behalf.

"Just leave me an hour with each of them, no cameras, no mics, and specially not their drugs, as well as their little sonic paralizing device," he practically growled. No one needed to guess what he planned on doing to them, it was clear violence would be part of it.

Maria gasped shocked, because menacing was the least thing she thought Captain America would be, but at those words he practically oozed menace and the threat of violence. Then she said, "SHIELD does not have a sonic paralizing device, or anything similar. I don't think something like that exists."

"It does," Tony had been shocked at hearing about the dratted prototype. He really hated the thing after Stane used it on him, the fact it was his creation only made things worse. "Although I believed all prototypes had been destroyed. It seems it was not the case.

"I would like to be present during your hour with them Cap," he told the younger man who was still looking shaken, but no longer near a panic attack, "so I can ask questions while you have fun with them. I'd like to know how they got their hands on a Stark Industries rejected weapon, specially since we are no longer on the business of making weapons. All prototypes were supposedly destroyed two years ago."

Tony glared at Agent. He had been there during the debacle with Stane, and was the obvious culprit. Agent shook his head, clearly seeing where his thoughts were going. It seemed he had not 'lifted' the weapon for SHIELD. He then glared at Natashalie, but she too shook her head to let him know she had not taken the weapon either.

"No one is torturing anybody," Maria stated firmly.

"Now," Steve added, "no one is torturing anybody now Ma'am," he added accusingly, and the woman flinched as did Coulson.

"Why don't we get back on track, we can deal with those three later, once we have the Cube back; and they will be dealt with Captain. I give you my word. You mentioned you saw the Tesseract activate a portal by itself?" Maria tried to get everyone back to the matters at hand, finding the Cube as soon as posible.

"Yes, it created a portal in the Valkyrie's cockpit when Schmidt accidentally touched it. The portal showed an image of deep space, but it was not stable and only lasted about five minutes. The Red Skull went through it," Steve summarized welcoming the distraction. Anything was better than allowing his mind to wander back to Kraft.

"So, Schmidt is loose somewhere," Tony began. "Do you happen to have an idea where? Not that we want that psycho back, more like... we'd like to know he's not returning."

"He's not coming back. He touched the Tesseract, and it desintegrated him before the dust left behind was sucked into the portal," he explained. "As to the where...

"Well I'll probably have to look at what deep space images are available in hopes to find a star configuration that matches what I saw. I doubt I'd find it though. At that moment it was more of a wormhole, and probably not to our galaxy."

"And you would know what a wormhole is, don't you?" Tony said. Rogers just raised one eyebrow in reply.

Would the guy stop shocking them for a minute? He had Hill, unflappable Hill gaping, and Coulson looked faint. He was leaning against the railing, so Agent probably had swooned already. Then they learnt he had actually been subjected to some type of unauthorized experimentation by someone from SHIELD.

Rogers' body language had said it all. It clearly had not been good, and even he felt a little protective towards the Capsicle. Perhaps a session with his repulsors would teach this Kraft fellow not to mess with a National icon, one that had looked like a very hurt and lost puppy a few moments ago.

Tony had wanted to hate Rogers because of Howard's obsession with finding him. His father had ignored him all his childhood while he looked for the guy. Tony had been compared to him time and again, and found lacking. But he was beginning to realise there might have actually been more reasons to want the guy back than just because of his patriotic ass.

"Of course you do," Tony snorted, then he turned to face the large windows up front, and spared a look at the monitors arrayed in what was Fury's command station. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails," he said facetiously and just to break the tense atmosphere on the bridge. He looked around and his eyes settled on a monitor displaying something at odds in a control room. "That man is playing Galaga, he thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Tony covered one eye, badly immitating Fury, while he surveyed the monitors. "How does Fury even see these?" He turned to face Hill.

"He turns," was her non plussed response. Like she was getting fed up with the non SHIELD people in the room's antics. Not that he blamed her. Rogers on his own seemed a handful, and he was not much better... probably worse on a good day; and they hadn't started using science-speak yet.

"Sounds exhausting." Then he went back to the problem at hand while 'playing' with the displays. "The rest of the materials agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density," and while everyone was distracted he stuck one of his gadgets to a terminal. "Something to kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill had to ask.

"Last night. The Packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Rogers is not the only one who did the reading and some homework you know?"

"And it seems we did not all get the same Packet." Steve only knew about Selvig's notes because he hacked into SHIELD. "Does Loki need a particular kind of power source? If what he needs is high-energy density, then I'm inclined to think he will go for nuclear, unless there is something more powerful than a reactor that I'm not aware of." He asked Stark, but Banner responded instead.

"He would have to heat the Cube to 120 million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"That is not easily achieved," Steve mused.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnel effect." Stark proposed.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Banner added.

"Finally, someone else who speaks English," Tony said giving a meaningful look at the Captain.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve mused. He understood most of it, but he was not as well versed in modern nuclear physics, or astrophysics as he would like. It seemed there were a couple more subjects he should probably investigate later on.

Steve opened another of the note taking apps on the tablet, this one allowed him to keep track of lists, and added to the increasing list of subjects to investigate. Plus a little note about asking the two scientists present for proper research material.

"It's good to meet you doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalled," Stark told the scientist. "I'm also a huge fan of how you loose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."

"Thanks," Banner said looking rather uncomfortable. Fury chose that moment to enter the room.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube." He had been hearing what was said in the bridge, and was grateful he had not been there.

Frankly Nick had gaped at hearing Rogers, and he had not found anyone capable of getting that particular reaction out of him in a very long while. But it did explain the Cap's behavior, as well as some of his actions, since they woke him up.

Nick was going to find out why two of his agents disobeyed orders and allowed Kraft access to the younger man. After unsupervised time with the Doctor, there was no way Rogers would trust SHIELD, specially when he had personally assured him he would not be experimented on. Then less than two hours later that was what happened.

Being at doctor Kraft's mercy would also explain the flash of unidentified emotion he had seen in the young man's eyes last night, it had been fear. He knew Captain Rogers was a brave man, and had witstood torture, as well as several medical procedures without anesthetics, so whatever those fuckers did, it must have been bad enough to get that reaction out of the younger man.

Nick could even understand why Rogers had not said anything until then, the younger man did not trust them. He was trying to escape SHIELD, because they had hurt him, he might even belived they had betrayed him. So the Captain could not be sure they would actually do something to Kraft and his sycophants.

They had also clearly underestimated Rogers, but who could blame them? There had been nothing in the sanitized files they had in the database to indicate there was a brain capable of decoding Starkese and speak it. He had not known until he started reading all those reports which for some reason had not been digitalized.

Not only that, but Nick concluded from what was just said, Rogers had been the one to design most of the weapons SHIELD had assembled for Phase two. Nothing he had read so far indicated the Captain had worked on the HYDRA weapons, but there were still more reports and memos to go through. Perhaps the information was in some of them.

Nick had to wonder why none of that information had been included in the files they had about Captain America. He, Hill, and Coulson had gone meticulously over what was on the mainframe when they first got him. There had been nothing, absolutely nothing, indicating Rogers was a genius before the Super Soldier Serum.

Once again it had not been mentioned in the paper files so far, although Nick did find mentions of the young Captain's above average intelligence, they just had not called him a genius for some reason. Although... his penchant for taking things apart and putting them back together again, and operating in a more efficient way was well documented.

It should have clued him in. Hell, there were memos from mechanics bugging their superior officers as to when Rogers would return from missions, because they absolutely NEEDED the man to fix something they could not.

"I was hoping you might join him," he went on telling Stark. When not in that flashy suit of his the man was actually useful in a lab.

"I would start with that stick of his," Steve interjected. "It might be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube." Fury commented; and of course Rogers would know how a HYDRA weapon operated. "And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn, two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

_'Of course you do!'_ Steve thought sarcastically. They wanted weapons after all, and the staff not only seemed powerful, but efficient. There was apparently no need to recharge the scepter.

What worried Steve more about the weapon was the fact it was able to control minds, because the HYDRA weapons were not able to, that much he knew, as neither Schmidt, nor Zola would have passed that opportunity. He really needed to find a way to work on the scepter.

"Monkeys? I don't understand," Thor was confused by the reference.

"I do," he said a bit surprised Fury chose to make a reference to the Wizard of Oz, specially because he had used a reference from the movie when they first met.

"Really Capsicle?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do you really know how he did it?" The younger man actually blushed and looked embarrassed.

"I mean, I understood the reference. It's from the Wizard of Oz."

"You've seen it?" Tony asked a bit surprised. The movie was old, but he was not sure if it was that old. Which clearly it was if the affronted look on Rogers' face was anything to go by. "No offence meant," he said placatingly, "I just can't remember the year it came out."

Steve took a couple of deep breaths, his control was not as tight as it used to. "None taken," he finally said, "it is... Was," he changed the tense once he realized he would be giving away to much, "one of my mother's favorites, so I've seen it more than once." Then he looked at the still very confused Asgardian. "What Director Fury means Thor, it that Loki turned those men into his personal and unconditional slaves," he explained .

"Shall we play, doctor?" Tony asked Banner, he was rather eager to work with the physicist. He truly found his published work interesting, never mind the fact he turned big, mean, and green.

"This way, Sir," Bruce said moving toward the lab they had assigned him.

Before they exited the bridge Tony turned and pointed a finger at Rogers. "You, the lab, ASAP. We geniuses must stick together."

"Later Stark," Nick told the annoyance. "You are full of surprises Captain," He began when Rogers, Romanoff, and Thor were the only ones who remained at the meeting table. He started walking towards the younger man. After what he heard about Kraft, some small things about the Cap's behaviour were bugging him, and he really, really hoped he was wrong. "Not quite what we were led to believe from the evaluations and reports the SSR had on you."

Fury invaded Steve's personal space, and he visibly tensed. While he tried not to give anything else away, it really took a lot not to stand to put distance between them. With a huge effort he shrugged. "I'm suspecting they wanted a symbol Director. They wanted more my body than my brains," Fury, Romanoff, Coulson, Hill, and even Thor snorted.

Dread filled his stomach. Nick knew Kraft was obsessed with creating super soldiers, if he could not recreate the serum, then he wanted them cloned, or... bred. Obtaining what he needed for the later would result in the behavior he just witnessed.

The two days Rogers spent in bed had not been grieving, like he believed, or perhaps it only partially was. Then there was the younger man's shocking interest in Biochemistry, the basics, which he was told was necessary to learn before moving towards DNA studies. The young Captain was most likely researching what doctor Kraft could do with what he took from him.

"From what you mentioned, the SSR did make use of your brains as well," he pointed out. He was still standing very close to the Cap. Nick could actually see the tension on the younger man's neck and shoulders.

"Captain America was a character the USO created to sell war bonds, and raise morale back home. But I did not agree to be experimented on, to become an actor, a lab rat, or..." _a stud used for breeding_. He did not say those last words aloud, so Steve just trailed off feeling his breath coming short.

He would not panic, he would not. But then Fury placed a hand on his shoulder and Steve could not help it. He bolted, jumping out of his chair, sliding across the table, and he was at the other side of the bridge before they could blink. Steve put as much space between them as he could. He looked a bit wild eyed, but when no one approached him he calmed down slightly.

_'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_ He berated himself angrily, as he tried to get himself under control. He could have taken Fury down, in fact it had become a trained response, but instead he fled, confirming whatever conclusions the one eyed spy had.

"They will pay Captain, Kraft went too far." The anger in his voice was unmistakable. He was furious.

"So you say," Steve said dully. It was clear he did not believe Fury's words.

"I meant it when I said I respected your choice not to be an experiment. I give you my word they will be questioned and brought to justice." The younger man nodded after a searching look. But he was clearly not fully convinced, and he could not blame him for it.

"I want what they took from me destroyed," Steve could not help the slight shudder. "I want to be sure some things haven't been used already, and I want to be present while its being done." He paused. "I also want to be left alone by your people."

"I can agree to all but the last." Nick was going to make them pay. As it was clear Rogers was not going to work for SHIELD any time soon. Unfortunately he could not just let him go out into the world on his own. "I had planned for agents Lozano and Johnson to bring you up..."

"No thank you," Steve stated firmly. "I did quite well on my own and with only the assistance from regular civilians," he had already known, but he had kept visiting Pete for at least an hour daily to back up his knowledge. "I suppose they omitted to report I stopped attending their so called lessons after the third one.

"It got tiresome to be treated like I was a caveman from the last ice age, specially by people who have no clue what they were talking about," he actually sneered at that. "People who do not take their job seriously enough to actually do research on the subject.

"People who are so ignorant they probably think my war was fought with rocks and sticks, since they clearly had no idea electricity and the telephone had been around for at least a couple of decades by the time I enlisted. Why did you assign them to me in the first place?"

Nick sighed, what the fuck was going on with SHIELD's personnel? They were not incompetent, far from it, but it was just one clusterfuck after another in regards to the young man before him. "They were chosen because they had a background in education before joining SHIELD," Nick explained. "They were also certified to teach several subjects at one of the academies for promising youngsters we have."

"Well, they clearly are not well versed on the early 20th century. As I said, I'm self taught, and quite capable of doing research on my own. I'll acclimate at my pace. If you are willing to provide me with adequate IDs, ones that do not say I'm ninety-three, as well as a High School Diploma, I'll work on getting admitted into College and get a job to support myself."

"I see..." Nick said with a sigh.

What was wrong with his people? Things were really fucked up beyond recognition if Rogers was actually contemplating civilian life. It was a waste of the Super Soldier Serum, although... letting him take full advantage of that genius mind was intriguing. A soldier with the mind of a scientist, a very odd combination. Someone who would have been even more valuable for SHIELD.

Unfortunately, because of the people who kept disobeying orders, and alienating the young man, he was probably only there because he knew the threat the Tesseract represented. But maybe... With time they might work on convincing Rogers to be a consultant, much like they did with Stark.

Nick sighed. "We'll see about it once this business with the Cube is over. In the mean time, find Stark and Banner Cap. You have more insight into how the Cube operates than we previously knew. I believe you might provide them with a different outlook, and perhaps a better reference than doctor Selvig's notes." That might start appeasing the young man.

"Yes Sir... Is there a posibility to have access to the files in Stark's, and I suppose Banner's packets? I would like to familiarize myself with them."

"Coulson?" Nick turned to his best handler.

"Hard copies Sir?" He asked the Captain, although he had seen the man had no trouble with the tablet.

"No, the tablet is fine." Steve preferred it actually. "It's not complicated to use," he added.

"It'll be there ASAP Captain." Phil was in a bit of a shock at all the revelations he had been privy to. He also wanted a few hours alone with Kraft and Co. Although he clearly was not the only one, in fact, suspected there was a line forming to have a go at those bastards.

"Thank you," he said standing and getting his bag from under the table. "Also is there a posibility for secure access to the Internet? I might need to do some research on some subjects. As I said, my nuclear physics are a bit outdated."

"That can be arranged as well," Nick granted.

He really needed to know just how smart the man actually was, and from his words earlier it was not due to the Super Soldier Serum. Then Rogers took out that skateboard of his from his back pack, and was on it before he managed to say a thing.

"Don't you dare use that fucking thing on my ship Rogers!" He shouted half heartedly a bit too late, as the young man was already rolling away from the bridge.


	8. Make them pay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author's Note:** Well, another chapter is here. I will keep posting about once a week until I run out of writen chapters. Thanks to all of those who are reading, and are either following or favorited the story.
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 4,130
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## Make them pay

Nick saw the young Captain roll away from the bridge at a sedate pace, managing to avoid anyone in his path with surprising ease. Like he had been skateboarding for most of his younger years.

It was surprising how easily Rogers learned, be it something physical like the skateboarding or the Parkour, or technical things. On his way to the bridge, Nick had stopped to watch the feed from the meeting. He had seen in a monitor how at ease the young man had been handling the tablet.

But all that did not hide the fact the Cap was not well, and needed help to deal with what those motherfuckers did to him. Help which Rogers clearly was not going to ask for, or accept if SHIELD offered it. There was simply too much distrust, and he could not blame him for it.

At least Rogers had managed to pull himself together, after nearly loosing it a couple of times, but he was concerned. Had the Captain been one of his agents, Nick would have pulled him off the mission and sent him home. Rogers was compromised, and he worried his mental and emotional condition might affect the outcome of the mission.

Unfortunately he could not do that, the young man was needed, and he had already proven to be a valuable member of the team. Nick could only hope Rogers kept himself together long enough to find and secure the Cube. In the mean time, he would make good on his threats to Kraft. The scientist would rue the day he heard of the Super Soldier Serum.

He would make Kraft, Frampton, and Wilkins pay. He might actually grant Rogers the time he requested with those fuckers. Not alone though... Stark, in that flashy suit of his, might actually be useful for something else and keep the Cap from killing the bastards.

"Are we certain he's twenty-six Sir?" Maria could not help but ask feeling slightly amused for the first time since doctor Kraft's actions were revealed.

What Captain Rogers just did had been typical teenage rebellion, she knew because two of her teenage nephews acted just like that. Rogers knew it bothered Fury, who was the authority figure, and did it precisely for that reason.

Maria had also heard of his escapade in the New York's office, but frankly who hadn't? It had only been a few days since it happened, and it was already becoming a legend amongst the junior ranks, and even amonst a few of the older agents. No one had admitted to introducing the Captain to skateboarding, and after all the revelations about him earlier, she was beginning to suspect he found out on his own.

"Actually," Fury began thoughtfully, "there were several reports of people accusing Rogers of being a minor. They were mostly based on hearsay, as it seemed all the Howling Commandos called him kid when on leave. Even Colonel Phillips did, but the man was always quick to quiet them down.

"There is a birth certificate re-issued in 1941, stating Rogers was born in 1918. But there was a fire which destroyed most of Brooklyn's birth records at the end of 1940; and back then they had to request people to present their documents so they could remake the books," he paused to let his agents assimilate the information.

Nick knew his people well enough to be certain they would reach the same conclusion he did. "I find it suspicious Rogers got a copy of his birth certificate just a few months after the fire, as it was not long after his mother died," he told them.

"You think he took advantage of the loss of records to falsify his birth certificate Sir? Why would he do that?" Maria asked rather shocked, and she could see Coulson was curious as well.

"Rogers might have done it to avoid going to an orphanage and to find work to support himself Hill. I'm told they had already some laws against child labor by the 1940s. Sixteen was the minimum age for a worker, and only for part time jobs. Rogers' mother had died a few months earlier, and as far as anyone knew, he had no other relatives."

"So he's eighteen, or perhaps even seventeen?" Maria asked. With the exception of Romanoff, SHIELD did not recruit anyone under twenty-one. She noticed Widow was paying close attention to their discussion, and suprisingly so was Thor.

"I have a feeling Captain Rogers is probably younger than that, maybe sixteen. It would explain some things, although he has proven to be a surprisingly capable, and responsible leader, as well as a superb strategist."

It also made what Kraft did to him even more of an abomination. Because if Rogers was that young he would still be considered a child, at least legally, and probably emotionally as well.

"That would mean he's still underage despite being ninety-something chronologically. If he's that young it might cause problems should it become public knowledge," she pointed out, "and he might need a guardian."

"We'll cross that bridge, if it comes, later Hill. Although I doubt he would ever admit his real age to us if that was the case. Not even under torture, and specially not after what Kraft did to him.

"Coulson," he said turning to his one good eye knowing the agent was dying to get his hands on those who hurt his childhood hero. He would have no mercy on them. "I want that motherfucker detained now. Top security and isolated. The same for Wilkins, Frampton, Lozano, Johnson, and any other asshole working under Kraft."

"Yes Sir." Phil knew Kraft was on board the helicarrier, as were all of the four senior agents mentioned, and a few of Kraft's staff. The rest were back at the New York offices. He was going to make them suffer for hurting Captain America.

"I also want Kraft's labs and offices secured, the ones in New York City, and those here. Have everyone with access to those places, even the cleaning crews detained for questioning. Have his house secured as well, I know he's not married, and has no partner, so there should not be anyone in that place.

"No one goes in or out, no one takes, or touches anything. You may use force Coulson, actually," he said his face hardening, "use it even if they don' resist, just leave them alive and able to respond questions. Romanoff," Nick turned to face her.

"Yes Sir?" She was standing already anticipating what Fury wanted.

Natasha had to accept she was more affected by what they discovered than she wanted to admit. Rogers was a strong, capable man from what she had read on his file, and what she had seen. He was also a bit naive and innocent, not the suave man she was expecting judging him by his looks.

If Rogers was indeed a teenager, and most likely an inexperienced one, it would explain that endearing and shy blush when he caught her checking him out. A confident soldier and leader outside, but a shy and insecure boy inside. It was a very odd combination.

On top, they had found out Rogers was a genius as well, and had been before the Super Soldier Serum. Then Natasha had to admire the fact he had been able to keep on functioning after being raped, because that was what Kraft's people, and perhaps the man himself, did to him.

The Captain was clearly a much better actor than they thought, and she suspected he was much better at denial as well. Because from what she had been able to observe from his reactions, the young man had clearly been trying to shove the experience to the back of his mind. Rogers was very affected by it, and probably only managed to avoid a panic attack out of sheer stubborness.

The fact he might actually be a child hit a bit close to home, to her time at the Red Room. It was there were she had seen strong, powerful, and capable young men loose all self-esteem, as well as their self-worth, then kill themselves after being treated like cattle studs. Most of those young men had not been willing participants in the program to breed better Black Widows.

"As soon as this crisis is over, you'll be in charge of questioning the motherfuckers. You have free reign, use any methods you see fit to get them talking. Show no mercy, but leave them alive... Castration IS acceptable," he said in a tone which implied it was NOT a suggestion. "I am seriously considering allowing Rogers and Stark an hour with each." Maria raised her eyebrows surprised at his words but she refrained from saying anything. "Coulson, you may assist her."

* * *

## Rolling down the passageways

Steve rolled his way down the walkways avoiding the agents walking by him skillfully. Most physical activities came surprisingly easy to him due to the Super Soldier Serum. His body did not need much work to obtain muscle memory, and he already had excellent balance despite the width of his shoulders.

He had managed to push aside the memory of Kraft with difficulty. But his reaction to Fury's proximity, and simple non threatening touch disturbed him more than he cared to admit to himself. Steve had been terrified by it, and had a really hard time not going into a panic attack before those people. Not that it did much good.

They all knew, even without it being mentioned. They knew what Kraft did to him, and he felt so ashamed. Steve had been weak, he had not fought them off... But he had tried, he had tried so hard to free himself from their clutches, yet his own body betrayed him by not responding. He truly hated that paralizing pen.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about them knowing what happened, and so he did his best to push that to the back of his mind as well. At the moment there were more important things at stake, like Earth's freedom if Loki managed to transport his army to Earth.

Afterward he would do his best to keep off the radar and find a place where he could allow himself to break. It would not be at home, because, frankly, he did not think he could tell his mother what happened in that cell like room.

Fury promised justice, but Steve did not believe he would get it. He did not feel he could trust SHIELD with it. Steve was working himself up again, and he really could not afford to lose it just yet, so he did his best to distract himself, and started thinking what to do once he reached the lab.

Steve had brought the blue gem on board with him, and was still not sure whether to tell the two scientists about it or not. There would be questions he was not prepared to answer as he did not trust either of them; and he was already rattled by the conversation on the bridge, so he knew he was not going to be able to convincingly lie his way out of those questions.

He worried having the gem on board the ship might interfere with the correct readings to find the Cube. Steve had consulted with the mainframe about its scientific equipment inventory, and there was a spectrometer on board, specifically, it was located in doctor Banner's lab.

Steve was still undecided about what to do when he reached the lab, precupied as he was with the gem, he almost used a mental command to open the door. Steve caught himself on time, there were cameras on both the corridor and the inside of the lab.

He was certain SHIELD would be intrigued as to why the door opened without him using the panel, and he was not sure they would go with the excuse of defective equipment, or something similar.

Steve was sure someone would get curious as to why that happened just as he was about to enter, and he really did not want to risk Fury changing his mind about keeping their scientists off him, and he might if he found out what he could do.

He rolled past the door due to his momentum, and then was stopped by one of the junior agents with a message from the Director. Which was to remind him no skateboarding was allowed on the helicarrier, and to get his ass to the lab ASAP.

* * *

## The lab

Bruce was going through Selvig's readings reports with a fine toothed comb, after he had informed Stark about what he had missed. The billionaire had not been happy to learn the information doctor Selvig provided on the Cube might not be accurate, or was incomplete. Bruce did not blame him, he had not been happy about it either.

They were now completely dependent on what Captain Rogers remembered from his work on the Tesseract powered HYDRA weapons, which might actually be more than they thought. While for them it had been over sixty-years since WWII, for the younger man it had been days.

Bruce knew from his research on the Super Soldier Serum, the Captain had been known for having an excellent memory, practically photographic. Back then he thought it might have been a side effect of the serum. What information he had on the serum suggested it might be.

After discovering the young man was a genius before Project Rebirth, Bruce was more inclined to think the exceptional memory was something the Captain already had, which the Super Soldier Serum had improved..

He looked up from his work, and saw Stark working on some equipment he brought, based on the Stark Industries logo on it. Then out of the corner of his eye Bruce saw something, or rather someone, large, blue, and blond zoom past the lab's window.

It went faster than walking, and smoother than running. He had to do a double take, and turned to look at Stark. Who had a rather dumbfounded expression, which Bruce supposed was mirrored on his own face.

"Was that who I think it was?" Bruce asked a trace of disbelief in his voice.

"If you mean did Rogers just roll past the lab on a skateboard? Yes, I believe you are correct," Tony could not help the slightly awed tone of his voice.

Skateboarding. On. Fury's. Prized. Ship? That was precious, and took a lot of guts. Tony knew it would annoy the heck out of the one eyed spy; and being able to annoy Fury was one of the pleasures of life. It was simply too much fun. Man, Rogers was earning brownie points like there was no tomorrow.

"Good to know I was not hallucinating," he went back to his reports. "The Captain is nothing like what I expected him to be from the dossier we were given," he commented rather bemused.

"I have to agree with you on that. I'm starting to believe we got the sanitized media approved reports and evaluations on Captain America, and by that I mean everyone not his contemporary. That includes all present SHIELD.

"Because there certainly was no information on Rogers being able to science, and having more than two functioning brain cells to rub together. Which he actually does seem to have, and the spies were just as surprised as we were."

"Hmm... Yes they were at that, specially when he admitted to have been the one doing all the work on the HYDRA weapons, and he happens to be self taught to booth.

"It was unexpected, but it might be quite helpful. He's probably the only one alive who has actually seen how the HYDRA weapons used the Cube to work," Bruce paused then could not resist asking. "What do you think he was doing on a skateboard of all things?"

"If I'm reading the situation right, he's actually fucking up with SHIELD's minds in general, and probably Fury's in particular," Tony responded thoughtfully. "I would certainly not have expected Captain America to have even heard of skateboards, much less to know how to ride them.

"But anyway, Rogers is clearly pissed off at SHIELD, whether it is because of what those guys did to him, or something else, we can only guess. But I don't blame him, because let me tell you, that paralizing pen is no fun.

"It's... pure mental torture to be so vulnerable and unable to protect yourself." He shuddered remembering what it was to be unable to keep Obadiah from removing the arc reactor. It was not just the betrayal from someone he had loved almost like a father, but the fact the man was using his creations against him.

"You've been subjected to it's effects?" Bruce asked curious. He had not missed the shudder from the other man.

"Yeah, it was... not good," Tony admitted but said nothing else about it.

After his experience in Afghanistan, Tony had come to regret designing most of the weapons Stark Industries had sold to the military through the years. But there was nothing he regretted more than creating THAT particular device... And the Jericho missile. Tony had to be grateful someone had drawn the line, and refused to approve the paralizing pen.

"I also think Rogers has resorted to just being annoying, because he's afraid doing anything else might lead Fury to deliver him to that mad scientist.

"But whatever it was they did to him, and I have my suspicions," he looked at his fellow scientist and by the grim expression on the other man's face, Tony could see Banner shared his suspicions as well, "had to have been bad enough to make a soldier like him nearly have a panic attack."

Tony typed a few commands on the screens while mentally issuing others. He could have done everything mentally, but only a scant number of people knew what he was able to do, and he was not willing to enlighten SHIELD about his abilities. There were cameras in the lab after all.

He was what was known in their very small circle as a technopath, and their small community preferred to keep their abilities to themselves. Who knew what governments would do to them if they discovered their ability to mentally interface with practically all tech?

To protect themselves technopaths policed their own people, there were probably less than two thousand of them (of all ages) world wide. So far they had been able to take care of their very few bad apples, so their secret was safe. Amongst them Tony was one of the most powerful, and he was capable of a world wide access range, modesty aside. Which of course he did not have any.

"I can see He was not very happy with SHIELD from what he said on the bridge," Bruce commented. He had noticed, but then everyone did. The Captain had been too affected to be subtle. "Neither was he pleased to learn none of his work was actually recognized. I would have liked to have those notes, he seems to be the only one who actually has any idea as to what the Cube is capable of doing."

"You and me both. I thought when I read his dossier Rogers was here willingly, I don't think it's the case anymore. I'm starting to believe most of us," and Tony made a movement with his hand indicating his fellow scientist and outside in the lab in the general direction where Rogers disappeared, "are not SHIELD fans."

Tony finished with some of the code then started working on gaining access to more processing power. SHIELD's mainframe was too slow for his liking. At that pace they would be on the flying bucket for months. So he planned on utilizing the H.O.M.E.R cluster for any heavy duty processing they required.

He already had JARVIS working on decripting SHIELD's files, but he knew the AI could take a bit of his processing power off the drecryption to look for any information on what that Doctor Kraft did to Rogers.

He was curious as to what would make a man who had had a bullet extracted without anesthetics more than once, nearly panic at the mention of the Doctor. Rogers' body language had pointed to something Tony did not want to consider.

Tony thought there was no reason to actually do 'that' to the soldier. Then his thought processes halted, as he realized there actually was one. If they could not get super soldiers by either getting the Super Soldier Serum's formula, or by cloning, then they would resort to artificial insemination or even IVF. How dare they?

"Hmm," Bruce hummed in agreement and went back to scanning the scepter. He had been... 'Invited' meaning he was not given much choice. It had really not ocurred to him the others were issued 'invitations' in a similar manner. "The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract, so this at least was reported truthfully. But it's going to take weeks to process."

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the H.O.M.E.R cluster we can clock this at around 600 teraflops," he told the scientist.

Tony was actually finishing doing it as he spoke, and was glad Banner brought his mind back to the task at hand. Thinking about what could have possibly been done to Rogers brought memories of Afghanistan. Beatings and waterboarding were not the only things they had tried to get him to make them their missile.

He had managed to deal with most of it, at least the sexual part because it had unfortunately not been the first time it happened to him, but the road had not been an easy one. Tony had, unfortunately, been kidnapped more than once in his life. There had been some kidnappers who would not cross certain lines, but unfortunately for him, there were a few others who did. Thankfully those had been a minority.

The necessary screen touching and typing to fool SHIELD done, Tony went into full mental commands. Keeping connections with all the tech in the room to monitor it, as well as the few main consoles on the bridge. All this behind Fury's back. Anything happen anywhere in the helicarrier, and he would know. Then he went towards the area Banner was working.

"Heh, all I packed was a toothbrush," Bruce said self-deprecatingly.

"You know, you should come by Stark tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it, it's candy land." He picked a screwdriver to fiddle with.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke Harlem." He definitely was not proud of that, and had been doing his best to avoid a repeat.

"Well, I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises," he said as he walked behind Banner and could not resist poking him hard on the side with the screwdriver.

"Ow!" Bruce jumped and complained, annoyed but not angry.

"Hey!" Steve exclaimed as he entered the room, and saw Stark poking Banner with a screwdriver.

"Nothing?" Tony asked. He was actually proving a point that Banner had more control over the Hulk than he let on.

"Are you nuts?" Steve could not help sounding disapproving, although they might misconstrue the real reason for it.

"Jury's out," was Tony's answer; and here he thought Rogers did not have a stick up his ass. It seemed he was mistaken. "You really have a lid on it," he said turning to Banner, "haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve demanded, although he could see the humor, specially since he had actually thought about Banner resorting to the later to keep calm when he read about the Hulk.

"Funny things are," Tony responded stiffly.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny; and I don't mean you doctor Banner." The last was said to reassure the doctor, he really agreed with Stark on the fact the man seemed to have things under control.

"It's all right, I wouldn't have come aboard if I could not handle pointy things," Bruce reassured the younger man.

"Then what do you mean Capsicle, if not the Hulk?" Tony demanded. He saw nothing which could endanger the whole ship.

"The jewel on the staff, what else Stark? As I said on the bridge, I do have some experience with Tesseract powered things," he pointed out. "I can tell you touching the jewel, even by accident, is not a good idea."


	9. Gems and technopaths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
>  **Author's Note:** Another long chapter which I did not find a good place to break. Well this chapter is all Tony, Steve, Bruce interaction, I hope I did not make them too out of character.
> 
> Right now the chapter count is sixteen (with the last two needing some heavy revising), with fourteen being the end of the Avengers movie. The muses are still alive with this story, so while this is the least read fic of what I have posted under the Black Dragon on the Rocks alias, I'll keep on posting until either the muses dry or the fic is finished.
> 
> To those who are following, reading and commenting, thanks a lot. I'm glad you're liking this story as much as I do. Believe it or not, this is my favorite of the three I have posted under this name.
> 
> On to other things not related to Here, there, and back again. 
> 
> I have four more fics of over 40,000 words, none finished, but they are still going. 1 is Stony slash (my fist ever slash fic) in the Iron Man 2 timeline, 1 is an Avengers/Harry Potter crossover with De-aged magical Steve (Post Avengers movie, pre Iron Man 3). 
> 
> Another is Post Avengers De-Aged magical Steve but with no Harry Potter characters, only the references to the Harry Potter world; actually I don't know in which category this one should go if I post it. 
> 
> The last is the weirdest of them all, I truly don't know what I was thinking when I started writing it, but it just kept going, and going and... Well you get the meaning I think. This is a Harry Potter ( _Master of Death_ ) as Spider-Man but in the timeline of the Avengers movie, with a just woken up wizard Steve.
> 
> I'll post either the full first chapter, or excerpts from each during the weekend in either my tumblr account ([Animealam's Writings and Recs](http://animealam.tumblr.com/)), and/or my website ([Animealam's Writing Corner](http://www.iycorner.net/)). I'll probably end posting anything else I have over 20,000 words as well. There are at least four more. So please drop me a word to help me decide what to do with these fics.
> 
>  **Total size without notes:** 6,130
> 
>  
> 
> __  
> **Keys:**  
>   
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_  
> 

## Gems and Technopaths

After Banner almost touched the gem on the scepter, even if it would have been by accident, Steve decided he would show them the little one he had in his possession. He took out from his bag the small opaque tupperware container where he stored the gem he found.

The gem was much smaller than the one on the scepter, and Steve wanted to believe it was less powerful. Still, it had the necessary power to open a portal big enough to transport his scrawny twelve year old body back in time seventy-one years. The portal had been large and could have transported someone the size of either of the scientists through time, in fact, he suspected it could have taken all three of them.

Also, Steve was not sure, but it might have been his thoughts about Captain America which changed the gems destination from the deep space image he initially saw, to the dirty alley he ended at. He rather not test that theory, even if it did explain why he ended seventy plus years in the past.

"What's that, are you offering snacks?" Tony asked and he only got a glare in return.

Then Tony felt it, someone took control of the mics and cameras on the room. Then the person set the video on a timed loop, and the audio was some type of music. He stared at Rogers in disbelief.

The Capsicle was a fucking technopath; a shockingly powerful one at that, and to booth, he also seemed to know well what he was doing. He took control of those electronics with the surprising ease of someone who had done it before.

"What the hell Rogers? Who taught you to hijack security like that?" Tony gave himself away unable to contain his shock. Besides, technopaths could not truly hide from each other.

Steve was startled, and stared at the shorter man with a 'deer caught in the headlights' look. Not his best response, but he really had not felt anything to give away the fact Stark was also a technopath. Not that he had come in contact with one before.

He only knew about technopaths because of some obscure sites and forums where they were mentioned. Steve had never dared to locate another of his kind, much less try to establish a connection so they could mentally talk. But truth be told, Stark being a technopath was not unexpected, not with the way the man handled technology. He was simply too good.

"I'm self taught Stark," Steve responded slowly, with only a hint of hesitation, while sparing a look at the doctor. Banner was staring at them clueless, but curious. "I had a lot of practice since SHIELD left me in a bug infested apartment, with bug infested equipment, almost two weeks ago." Which was the truth. He never had any need to do something like that before. "They've been keeping track of me like I'm some kind of terrorist threat." He could not help sounding indignant and offended.

Steve concentrated harder, and he found Stark's subtle connection with practically everything electronic in the room, plus a few long distance ones. They were all running smoothly, and so seamlessly. It was practically like the man did not need to concentrate on what he was doing. He was impressed, as Steve had not detected anything before the man's unfiltered mouth gave him away.

"This is something SHIELD knows nothing about," Steve began changing the subject. It was not the right time to discuss technopaths ,"and I rather keep it that way," he said looking pointedly at each scientist in the eyes.

Steve opened the lid of the tupperware to show them the small gem inside. It was in the size and shape of half a golf ball. As soon as the lid was off, it began glowing brighter. Perhaps it was due to being in close proximity to the one on the staff. It was clear to them all the smaller gem's exhibited plasma like behavior.

"Is that..." Banner trailed off as he peered at the glowing blue gem, "a piece of the Tesseract?" He almost touched it. Rogers pulled the container closer to him protectively, and put the lid back on.

"No touching doctor Banner. While it won't disintegrate you like the Tesseract did the Red Skull, it is quite capable of opening a portal large enough to transport all three of us."

"Where did you get it? How do you know it won't disintegrate anyone, or about it opening portals? And why of all things use a tupperware to transport it?" Tony shot the rapid fire questions, unable to keep his eyes off the small gem once Rogers opened the container again.

Steve chose not to answer most of the questions. He was not ready to disclose his time travelling. "I found it in an abandoned warehouse near the docks." He could admit as much. "As to the tupperware, I didn't have access to a properly insulated container, but plastic is chemically inert, and does have insulating qualities.

"In fact, the HYDRA weapons power source containers were made of hard plastic. At least all the ones I got my hands on did. Besides, no one checked it when they went through my things thinking it had snacks."

"That was actually good thinking," Bruce said once again surprised at what the younger man knew. "But what about the gamma radiation these gems emit? Plastic is not dense enough to block it."

"I know, but from the readings I got when I was working with the HYDRA weapons power sources, the level of radiation they emitted was non harmful," Steve informed them. "It might be worth it to check this one, I'm sure the spectrometer you have is much more advanced than what we had back then."

"You did not answer my question Captain, is it..."

"It's not a piece of the Tesseract doctor Banner," he told them, "and to be truthful I only have a theory about what it is, based on my previous work with Cube powered weaponry."

"Then shoot Capsicle," he got a glare from the younger... Or perhaps older, man. "What do you think it is?" Tony asked taking a seat on the nearest chair.

"As you know, HYDRA weapons were powered by the Tesseract, but not directly," he began. "Arnim Zola found a way to extract some of the Cube's energy and contain it in plastic as plasma.

"It was this plasma which Zola used to power just about everything he could think of. Those weapons actually needed only a very tiny amount of the plasma to be powered, and they still managed to be the most lethal things I've ever encountered.

"I haven't seen anything so far that matches what one of those weapons could do." His eyes took a far away look for a moment, and the two scientists looked at each other knowing he was remembering the war. "I saw large men vaporized upon contact with the rays the smaller weapons shot.

"The tanks... those were the major leagues." He took a deep breath, those were not good memories. "This gem has the form and size of the storage chamber used for the tanks. It not only powered the weapons, but the whole tank as well. I think this managed to survive somehow, and over time the plasma solidified in the container."

"This little thing powered a whole HYDRA tank?" Tony asked shocked peering closer at the half golf ball of lethal blue crystal.

Tony had heard about the HYDRA tanks of course. The tanks had been mentioned during those reunions his father had with the Howling Commandos and aunt Peggy. They were all very glad HYDRA had not had the chance to make too many of them. If he remembered well, Rogers and the 107th stole a couple when he rescued them from the HYDRA base.

Banner had sat as well as he explained, and Steve got the nearest chair closer to the work table, but still on the other side from the scientists, and sat as well. He was keeping his distance from the men, but trying not to be obvious about it. The doctor pulled the scanner closer, and took some readings on the gem. Then compared them with those of the staff and the reports from the Tesseract.

"I can confirm this one is not as powerful as the one on the staff, or the Cube itself. The gamma readings are actually much dimmer, and yet you say you've seen this one open a man sized portal?" Was Rogers the one who touched it? "Have you compared the star constellations for both portals? Where there the same?"

"Actually... I haven't compared them. I do have a photographic memory so I'm pretty sure I have detailed memory images of both, and no Stark," he said when the man opened his mouth, "I already had it before the serum.

"Hmm..." he hummed thoughtfully. "Let me try something," he said pulling Thelma out of the back pack, and making sure she was clean of any spyware.

SHIELD had accessed her to deliver the information Packets after all. Thelma had told him as soon as the information was transferred, and informed him there had not been anything which compromised her security in those files. Still, it never hurt to double check.

"You're going to transfer the memory images to it." Tony realized what Rogers planned. He mentally poked the tablet, and nodded. It was clean of SHIELD spyware, had good processing power, and high definition graphics. It should be able to render good quality mental images. "And you named it Thelma? Why the hell did you name her that?"

"She sounds like a Thelma to me," Steve said with a shrug, "besides, are you really any better at naming your tech?" He retorted. He knew JARVIS stood for _Just A Very Intelligent System_.

"Of course..." Tony began but trailed off, "not," he admitted. Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, hell even JARVIS had forbidden him to even think about it. "I'm not allowed to name anything anymore. Not after naming my bots DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers."

"And you're questioning **MY** choice in names?" Steve raised an eyebrow.

Bruce was really confused. They were talking about tech like they were pets. He wanted to ask about it, but there were more important things to deal with. So he asked instead. "You can transfer a memory to a tablet?"

He had never heard of a person interfacing with a computer, or gadgets, in such a way. Although it did shed a little light on to what Tony meant by Rogers hijacking the security, and both of them could do it.

"What are you? Mutants?" Bruce could not help asking.

"No, but I did check just to be sure. I don't have the gene, none of us do," Tony responded as Rogers was clearly concentrating on the tablet. Not that he thought the man from the past would know what Bruce was talking about. "Besides, as far as I know the X gene manifests in puberty. I've been able to interface with anything running on electricity since I can remember. It's better if they have chips though, those actually respond."

"The others do too, but not in words," Steve said absently as he finished transferring the clearest memory images he had of the portals. "You just have to pay attention to the 'feelings' you get. Mostly they let you know if something's not working right, and what they need to work properly, or even better."

"And you would know how those old relics communicate, specially since the integrated circuits came about a few years after you became a Capsicle." The younger man glared at him, and Tony shrugged. He could not help it, the nickname sounded funny to him, and it fit.

"Doctor Banner, have a look." Steve passed the tablet to the physicist. To Stark he said, "you can access the images directly. Thelma unfortunately does not have the computing power to run an extensive comparison program, and I rather not access any of SHIELD's mainframes for the extra power."

"You've been accessing their mainframes?" Tony asked a bit surprised. "A turtle processes faster than they do. I have a supercomputer powered AI which runs my computer factories, I call it the H.O.M.E.R cluster.

"With 600 teraflops it should be able to compare the images without slowing the processes it's already running. Mind if I forward them?" Normally he would not have shown anyone the courtesy, but Rogers kept impressing him. The images were astounding, crisper than anything from the Hobble, or the deep space radio telescopes.

"600 teraflops?" Steve whistled. "That's some serious processing power." He could not help but be impressed. That amount of computer power was something he had only dreamed about as a poor boy from Brooklyn. "Go ahead, I don't think I can get my hands on something with more processing power than this anytime soon." He signalled the Thelma. Even upgraded, Wyatt could not compare.

"The images look to be from the same cluster of space to the naked eye, Captain. The quality is astounding," Bruce could not help but be amazed. "What's the time frame between them?"

"One is from the day I crashed, the other..." he trailed off and fidgeted. "Er... there's a few years difference." It was all he was willing to admit. Of course he really should have known better. Those men before him were not known for being stupid and slow to process things.

"You touched the gem didn't you?" Bruce asked rather gently seeing the younger man's discomfort. "You opened a portal."

"I..." Steve started, but then closed his mouth with a snap and shook his head.

"Where did it take you Rogers?" Tony was not willing to let this pass as he did when he asked about where the Capsicle got the gem. "You've obviously been through the portal, that is why you were concerned about either of us coming in contact with the larger gem."

"It's not important Stark," he said firmly, "what is, is the fact it can produce a man sized portal."

"Like hell it isn't! I can't solve the equation if I don't have all the variables! This little thing can clearly give us more clues as to what the fucking Cube is capable of. You're the only other being who appears to have actually travelled via that thing and can tell us more about it. Because Loki is sure not going to share!"

"Drop it! I've already given you more information about the Cube than you were likely to ever have," he snapped at the billionaire. "You don't need to know anything else Stark." Steve had stood and began a nervous pacing.

"What are you hiding Rogers? Should I tell Fury? I'm sure he'll set Romanoff on your case, and seeing as her partner is in Loki's hands, I can bet she won't go easy on you, super soldier or not."

"Don't you dare Stark! Don't you DARE tell anyone from SHIELD!" Steve tried to snarl.

Steve wanted to sound menacing, unfortunately, it seemed he sounded more terrified than anything, which he was, and about to have a panic attack... Again. God! What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he keep himself together anymore?

But those were rhetorical questions, Steve did know why he was just so tired, and more affected than he wanted to admit even to himself. He did not want Fury to change his mind about that mad scientist and his cronies. He was aware they were on the ship, and as of yet had not been detained.

If someone from SHIELD found out he was a time traveller the Director would probably deliver him to Kraft himself. He could not go through that again, he couldn't; and they had only taken samples from him. They had yet to get to the testing phase. Steve could not help it, he began hyperventilating and put some distance between them.

"Fuck!" Tony exclaimed. He really had not meant for the Capsicle to have a full blown panic attack. "Calm down Rogers, come on, take deep breaths. I was just bluffing! I'm not going to tell SHIELD I swear!"

"Don't tell SHIELD, please," he gasped. "I can't take that again, I can't."

At that moment the subroutine he had mapping the cloaked servers died a swift but extremely violent death. Fear at being used as a _breeding stud_ distracted him too much. Steve was not able to guide the subroutine through the next set of firewalls, and it was detected. Then it was eliminated along with the main program.

In its dying throes, the subroutine sent a huge file dump of all its findings directly onto Steve's unprepared mind. Along with it, there was an electronic screech loud enough Stark heard it. Steve cried out in agonizing pain, and fell to his knees clutching his head and cursing up a storm. He needed to get rid of it, or he was going to pass out, and who knew what damage it could do to his mind.

"Rogers what the hell was that?" Tony's mind was reeling. He had never heard a program do anything like it. "Rogers?"

"Oh God, Oh God," was coming out of Steve's mouth like a mantra. "Need to get it out! Oh God! It's too much, I need to purge it!"

The younger man's last words finally clued him as to what part of the problem was. Tony connected first with JARVIS, and told him he was sending him an information dump. It was probably corrupted and should be kept isolated. JARVIS should avoid examining it until Tony had more information as to what it was, and where it was from.

JARVIS enquired if six terabytes of space would be enough, and after taking a closer look into Rogers' mind, Tony agreed it was sufficient. JARVIS informed him he would be using external hard drives to avoid contamination by the corrupt files. Satisfied with that protection Tony pulled the information from Rogers' mind, and sent it to JARVIS allowing the Captain to regain control over his own thought processes.

"Thanks," Steve said once he had performed the equivalent of a mental purge.

Purging did not work on any real memories, pity that. There were more than a few things he rather not remember. Unfortunately memories were organic and not easily tampered with. But anything digital was treated by his mind much like a computer would treat data.

He really had no explanation as to why that was, or if it was a common thing for technopaths, not that he cared at the moment. Steve was just grateful things worked that way, or he would have probably had brain damage of some type.

"You can thank me by telling me what the hell was that?" Tony waved it off giving the Capsicle a hand to stand.

The younger man was pale, and visibly shaken. Rogers had accepted his assistance, but he moved out of reach as soon as he was able to stand on his feet, even if a bit unsteadily. One more sign to add to his list of tell tale signs of rape. Tony had other questions, a lot of them, but those could wait until the main one was answered.

Steve walked back to his chair feeling like the ninety-something year old he was supposed to be, and still keeping his distance from the other two men. He had released Stark's hand as soon as he was standing.

He ached all over, and not just his head. Steve rubbed his face, and passed a hand through his hair. His hands were visibly shaking, and he took a few deep breaths to try to steady himself before he began explaining.

"I hacked into SHIELD last night since they did not see fit to provide me with all the necessary information," he told them

"You hacked into their mainframe, with that?" Tony signalled the tablet and raised an eyebrow. He was surprised.

"Not initially," Steve admitted. "Wyatt is a regular laptop, new but not state of the art. I suppose they did not expect me to get the hang of using tech any time soon. I've upgraded Wyatt as much as possible, but he's still not as powerful as Thelma.

"I actually had to work with both last night to have enough power, and time to do as much research as possible. At least agent Coulson said I could keep her after we find the Cube."

Tony stared impressed, Rogers must have had to do most of the work mentally. "Before I met you, I wouldn't have pegged Captain America as one to go for the back door." The blond just shrugged. "Not that I can say anything, as JARVIS my AI is practically downloading the contents of SHIELD's encrypted databases as we speak."

If someone asked him if he believed Captain America capable of going behind someone's back last night after he read SHIELD's dossier on him, Tony would have said hell no. But would wonders never cease? The Capsicle was not one to follow blindly, and not above spying (and doing something 'slightly' illegal, well very illegal, but who cared?) to get the information he needed.

"We had not met yet, so Fury can't pin that one on me. I was not the one to corrupt Captain America," he crowed.

"Ha, very funny Stark, ha," Steve glared half heartedly feeling more like himself.

"You were saying Captain?" Bruce asked pinning a warning look on Stark, there was a slightly green tinge to his eyes and skin. He too had questions, and they were not going to be answered if the man did not keep quiet.

"Call me Steve," he told both of them. "As I said I accessed their mainframe with a query for information about the Tesseract."

Tony stared. "Oh you can be devious Cap, who would have thought? You already read Selvig's notes, so those complaints on the bridge were just for show."

"I would call it misdirection Stark," he said sounding dignified. "Besides, I needed a way to get them to give me the information to justify how I knew about it. They believe me somewhat technology illiterate, but because I can communicate with it, that has actually been the easiest thing of being in the future. They don't need to know that though."

"No they don't," both scientists agreed.

"So you hacked into SHIELD's mainframe..." Bruce prompted.

"Yeah, and since I was already there I had a subroutine start mapping and indexing the servers, and flag any interesting files. The subroutine led me to a cloaked cluster of servers running parallel to the mainframe.

"I don't think many are aware they're there. The security for those servers is... extreme, almost... sentient. I noticed the coding is different to the one running on the mainframe as well. Most comments to the code are in German, which I find odd for an American organization.

"I've been in contact with the subroutine on and off all day. I stopped it when I left for Stuttgard, and deployed it again when we returned. I've been assisting it with evading the security, but I got distracted and it caught us. The security subroutine retaliated in a rather painful way. I didn't know they could do that."

"That's strange, I've hacked into SHIELD rather often. Hell, I do it every other week just on principle, and I've never come across anything like you describe," Tony mused, but he did contact J and let him know about the cloaked servers so he could look for them. He also warned him about the extreme security.

"It seems SHIELD is hiding more things from us than I originally thought, not that it is unexpected. This makes me wonder, why did Fury call Banner and me in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? As I said, I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." He took out a bag of blueberries from his pocket and began munching on them.

"Fury is hiding something." Of that Steve had no doubt.

"He's a spy Cap, so of course he is." Tony agreed. "Fury is 'the' spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging you too, isn't it Banner?"

"Ah..." he rather not get more involved than he already was. That always led to trouble. "I just want to finish my work and..."

"Let's be honest doctor," Steve requested. "Neither Stark, nor I trust SHIELD, and I suspect you don't either." He needed to be certain they were all on the same page. He had already revealed more than he originally wanted.

"I don't," he agreed, "and call me Bruce," he offered. " _A warm light for all mankind._ Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube."

"I think we all heard it," It was bugging him too.

"I think that was meant for you," Bruce said to Stark. The man offered him blueberries, and he took a few. Having the Other Guy gave him an accelerated metabolism and he was getting a bit hungry. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"The Stark Tower?" He was not sure why it would interest Loki, but then when he left it was yet to be finished, and he had not paid much attention to it. "That big, ugly..." Stark glared at him, "building in New York."

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source," Bruce went on explaining. "That building will run itself for, what, a year?" Steve looked suitably impressed.

"It's only the prototype," Tony told them rather proudly. The arc reactor was going to save Stark Industries a shitload of money, which in turn would make the Board of Directors happy. Hopefully it would keep them off his back for a long, long while.

"I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at." He offered a blueberry to the kid, because that was something he discovered while helping Rogers. He was, way, WAY younger than he admitted, even if he looked older. But that conversation could wait.

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?" Bruce asked.

This was something that had him questioning SHIELD since Bruce received the Package. They had tried to sell him the idea they were interested in unlimited clean energy, which was very hard to believe. They were a spying agency after all.

"What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce added, voicing his doubts since it truly did not sound logical at all.

"I asked myself the same thing when Fury told me about the Tesseract," Steve commented. "They are an intelligence and threat response agency, there's no reason for them to be involved with energy."

"So you both noticed it too. I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files." Tony mused.

"You've been running that in the background?" Steve asked Stark rather awed.

Now that he knew about it, Steve had been 'feeling' the other man work the systems in the background. It was awe inspiring, but there was nothing to indicate he was actually decrypting files. From experience Steve knew those took a lot more concentration and mental processing power.

"No, JARVIS, my AI, has been running it since I hit the bridge. This frees my mind to focus on other things. In a few hours I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide.

"I also warned J about the cloaked servers, and about the tight security. He'll access them now that he knows they are there. Blueberry?" He offered again, and this time the kid did take a few. Then rubbed his temple after he ate them. "Headache?"

"More like a migraine, and I haven't had one of those since I took the serum," he grimaced.

"Hmm... Pain meds don't work on you, do they?" Bruce asked. Proof the Super Soldier Serum did have its downsides.

Steve sighed. "Most of what we had didn't, morphine did work though, but I needed very large doses. I'm not sure if any of the new ones would work, and I rather not give them the chance to experiment on me." He tried to suppress a shudder but failed. The other two men in the room noticed, but thankfully they did not comment.

"Take a nap," he suggested. "It might help."

"Thanks for the suggestion Bruce, but I don't think I can sleep while on this flying bucket. Kraft and his aides are on board, and while Fury promised he would have them arrested, I can't be sure it's already done.

"If I lower my guard I might end on an operating table with no anesthetics, or locked in a room without food and water until I collapse just to see how long I can go without them."

Tony frowned. "You're exaggerating, right kid?" Somehow he felt like Steve was not, and he did not like it at all.

Steve shook his head. "No, Kraft demanded Fury handed me to them the day I regained consciousness. He actually delivered a testing programme for approval, and believe me those two are the mildest ones.

"Fury refused, but Kraft did what he wanted anyway. They only got samples..." and it took all he had to push the memories away, but rolling his chair to put a bit more distance from them was rather telling. As was hugging himself, although he had tried to make it look like he was crossing his arms.

Bruce gasped, understanding just what kind of samples those people took, and he could see the younger man had not been dealing with it at all. Probably pushed it to the back of his mind. But Hill unwittingly reminded him of what had been done to him, then being confined in the same ship, albeit a very large one, as those people was probably making things worse.

"They can't do that Steve. No one can take samples from you without your consent. Doing it by force is a crime, several actually." Bruce explained to the younger man.

His eyes were tinged slightly green. The Other Guy was not at all happy. He wanted to smash those who dared hurt and scare the little Captain. The last puzzled Bruce no end, Steve was anything BUT little.

"I don't think they care. Kraft doesn't consider me a human being anyway." Steve looked rather lost and hurt at that moment. "He actually referred to me as an **'It'**. Besides, he already took some of them, and I was in no condition to stop him." He did not like what Kraft planned with some of his samples, not at all. Hopefully they had not used them yet.

"How long is it since you had a full night's sleep kid?" Tony asked. Steve, he was no longer the Capsicle after what he found in his mind, said his apartment was bugged, and they were keeping him under surveillance, much like they did terrorists. There was a good chance he had not had much.

"Too long," he finally admitted. "Not since weeks before the crash... before Bucky died" and his voice broke a little. He hadn't been able to truly grieve for his brother in all but blood, and it still hurt so very much to even think about him, much less speak about him. "I don't need much sleep due to the serum anyway," Steve said with a shrug.

Tony looked the kid in the eyes, and connected to his mind so he could feel he meant what he said. "You are safe with us Steve. Neither Bruce, nor I, will let those people get to you. We might have a fight on our hands later, when we find the Tesseract, and you need to be in good condition. You need to rest.

"There are enough work tables we're not using here, if you can fit yourself under one for some privacy, you may be able to catch some Zs. We'll keep watch for you," Tony offered, and Bruce nodded his agreement.

Tony mentally asked JARVIS to give priority to what that wanna-be scientist did to Rogers. He truly did not like the kid's reactions to the mention of that man. The fact Rogers was still a kid, only made his blood boil even more.

The Cap had been calm and collected until Hill mentioned that supposed debriefing. She made him remember what he had clearly been blocking, and from there Steve began crumbling. The kid needed to regroup, or he was going to get himself, and others, killed if there was a fight.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I think I can do that," he agreed slightly nervous, although he had felt the older technopath's sincerity. It had eased him a little, because he finally had someone to watch his back.

"Just wait a second, I'll be back in a moment." With that Tony went out of the lab leaving two puzzled men. When he returned nearly ten minutes later he was carrying a couple of pillows and blankets, plus a sleeping bag. "Here, this should help you be more comfortable."

"Thank you," Steve said taking the items Stark brought. It was a nice gesture, and he was rather moved by his consideration.

"Do we want to know where you got them?" Bruce asked slightly amused. Tony was not as self centred as he made people think.

"Probably not," he shrugged, "but according to the logs they have not been used."

"I probably won't sleep more than twenty minutes, but that should be enough to keep me going. Thanks, Tony?" The last was a question since the man had not offered his first name.

"Yeah Tony is alright. Now go on, get some Zs." Tony made shooing motions towards the tables at the back of the room. "We'll try not to make too much noise," he said with a nod. "I'll take control of the surveillance equipment while you nap kid."

"You might want to keep using my _Annoy SHIELD_ playlist," he suggested before picking up his bag and choosing a place where he could sleep. "I'm sure it's driving them up the walls."

Normally Steve could go about a week without sleep during combat situations, but the migraine was more than he could deal with at the moment. Specially when he had had so little restful shut eye since before they took him out of the ice, and he was feeling too out of sorts. He needed to rest before he broke.

After checking the work tables in the room, Steve chose the one furthest from the two scientists so they could keep with their work. It was actually more like a desk, which gave him more privacy. It also kept him mostly out of sight from everyone entering the lab, as well as the scientists.

Steve crouched before it and placed the sleeping bag folded in two, as the desk was not long enough to fit his tall frame. He set one of the pillows on one side, then crawled under the desk, and settled as best as he could covering himself with the blankets all the way to his ears. The other pillow he chose to hug, as it was a bit comforting and something he used to do before enlisting.

He managed to curl himself into a surprisingly small ball under the covers despite his very large frame. It was a trick Steve learned since he sometimes had to hide his whole body behind his shield during gun fights for protection. The serum made his body quite flexible.

Steve was out like a light as soon as he was somewhat comfortable. Life as a soldier had taught him to sleep whenever and wherever possible, and sleeping under a desk on the floor was not amongst the most uncomfortable places he had napped at.

Unfortunately despite this ability, his rest was usually interrupted by nightmares, which were actually more memories of what he had been through than anything. This time Steve was out for longer than expected, proof of just how tired he really was.

The quiet murmurs coming from all the tech in the room, and the two scientists, as well as the knowledge that someone had his back, allowed him to relax for the first time in two weeks. He felt safe, and that was not something he had felt since before the gem took him back in time.


	10. Finding the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don’t own the Avengers, I’m just borrowing them. I’m using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author’s Note:** _tommyboynv made a very interesting point in his review (at ff dot net) about passing both Tony and Steve as mutants. I could have made them mutants, but frankly, I know very little about the whole X-Men mutant scene. I’ve only ever seen the very first two movies, and can’t remember much. So I decided to respect X-Men fans and not mangle the fandom._
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 5,660
> 
> ****  
> _Keys:_  
> 
> 
> “Speaking aloud.”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_  
>  _‘Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\’_

## Finding the truth

Tony went back to checking their work on tracking the Tesseract, and monitoring JARVIS progress on the secure files once the kid was asleep. He tended to pretend to be uncaring, and for the most part he was a selfish bastard, but Rogers had wormed his way behind his masks with surprising ease.

Well, anyone who was so deviously evil as to play all versions of _Il Pulsino Pio_ available on the Internet, _It’s a Small World after all_ , _The never ending song_ , and a ton of other equally annoying catchy tunes for the poor SHIELD creeps monitoring the lab for hours rated an awesome in his book. It was a shame it had not occurred to him before.

When he let him browse through the _annoy SHIELD_ playlist, Bruce had actually laughed so hard he cried, and nearly burst a vein or something while he tried not to wake Rogers, specially after realizing the agents watching them had been hearing the tunes for hours. Tony had already sent the playlist to his personal servers to use when the agents were being specially obnoxious. A pretty good, harmless revenge on the pesky spies.

Tony wondered if it would actually get him shot if he hacked Fury’s smartphone and changed the ring tone to one of those. Then he decided to get Rogers on board and change the ring tones on every cell phone on the helicarrier, to different tunes. Between the two of them they could manage in little time, and it should lighten the tense atmosphere.

He actually found himself feeling surprisingly protective of the kid, and knew his fellow scientist felt the same way. Specially after JARVIS located Kraft’s files, and a security camera video of the ‘supposed’ debriefing.

What they did to him, to a **_child_** was… sickening. Why in fucks name did SHIELD keep a psycho like that amongst its personnel? That animal should have been behind bars in a high security prison at the very least.

Following Kraft’s orders, the two agents had actually tortured the kid, just to see how long the serum took healing him. They had beaten, shot, cut, stabbed, and applied electroshocks to him. Then Kraft had gleefully stabbed Steve with huge needles to take samples of his liver, kidneys, bone marrow, and who knew what else, without any anesthetics.

The worse though, was the fact they resorted to rape to get the kid’s body to respond so they could obtain semen samples naturally. Rogers had been too dazed from the paralyzing pen, and the drugs the nut case was pumping into him, to fight them; and after continuous stimulation he had been too out of it to do anything but cry and beg to be left alone.

Hearing Steve beg for the bastards not to touch him… hit him hard, and awoke protective instincts Tony hadn’t known were there. He wanted the motherfuckers dead right then and there. But that anger did not compare to what he felt when he saw what happened next.

When the kid could not give then more, the had taken their turns with him. They were going to die, very painful and slow deaths. Tony was going to be sure they suffered. It was no wonder Steve shuddered just at the mention of that beast. Because it was not just the rape, those animals had messed up with Steve’s self-esteem and confidence. Tony was sure the kid believed his own body had betrayed him.

Kraft wanted super soldiers at all costs. If cloning did not work, he wanted to use Steve as a stud and artificially inseminate his chosen women. It was clear Tony was not the only one who wanted to murder Kraft, because Banner had gotten rather green as he watched the video and heard the psycho’s words. It had not been because he was sick, although they both almost were at one point.

They almost had a Hulk out after Bruce saw the video, and did not only because Hulk did not want to wake the Cap. If that had been his reaction, when Banner believed him an adult, Tony could only wonder what would happen when he told his fellow scientist Steve was a kid.

It took all they had to keep on working, and not go and hug Rogers, or in a rampage to seek Kraft and his cronies, then murder them painfully. They did not because both knew the least thing the Cap would want was for anyone to know exactly what those bastards did to him. Although after his reactions Tony was sure they all suspected something of the sort had been done to Captain America.

Tony removed the video from SHIELD’s servers, and any backup they had. Then he and Bruce worked in near silence, while they tried to come to terms with what was done to the kid. He was thinking of painful ways to avenge Steve, and from the slightly green eyes on Banner, he too was contemplating murder.

* * *

## Suspicions confirmed

A nightmare woke him up two hours later, but he felt more rested than he had in a long time. Steve was also quite surprised to have been able to sleep so long, he usually napped at forty minutes to one hour intervals because of nightmares. Stomach growling, Steve decided it was high time he found the mess hall and got some nourishment.

His faster than normal metabolism demanded he ate a lot, and quite often whenever possible; and it was at least eight to ten hours since he last ate something more substantial than blueberries. It did not help that he had not been eating as he was used to, or needed to, since most days he had not been hungry. But Steve knew there was most likely going to be a battle ahead, and he would need as much energy as he could get.

Steve offered to bring something to Bruce and Tony but they told him they were fine. Tony had actually bribed a junior agent into bringing them large amounts of coffee and tea (for Bruce), and a sandwich every so often for both of them. It was against lab safety protocols, but necessary if SHIELD wanted them to keep on going.

* * *

After eating what passed for food in the mess hall, he had a few rounds of poker which he totally won, with some of the agents on break to keep messing with SHIELD. There was actually a warning by Colonel Phillips in his file to never allow him to play poker with the troops. That memo had not been digitalized yet, so he could take advantage of the fact.

He was specially forbidden to play when chocolate rations were involved because he always won. Who could blame him, a) he was a teenager and it was a known fact kids consumed large amounts of sweets whenever possible, and b) his metabolism really demanded a large amount of calories to keep him in peak condition. Army rations had not been cutting it, and he had to get those calories from somewhere.

Steve left the mess hall with some extra money in his pocket, and several disgruntled agents demanding a few more rounds, to appease them somewhat, he agreed on a poker night either on payday night, or the following evening. He actually enjoyed playing card games, although he was not one to get obsessed about it.

He really did not need the money he won, as Steve was practically set for life with just his back pay alone, never mind the pension he got when the Army retired him with the rank of General. Which was the rank he would have most likely earned after sixty-eight years in service.

Steve wished he could use the money he had to help his mother with the many debts accumulated because of his ill health, but he had yet to find a way to do so without SHIELD finding out. He knew they would be able to track any electronic transaction he made.

Since he really had no use for the money he just won, Steve thought he should try to find a way to leave the cash at home for his mother to find with a note to use it for whatever she needed. Or if he really could not go home safely, then perhaps he could donate it to some charity. He would need to think about it.

He remembered then, the neighborhood’s Catholic Church was running a shelter for battered women and their kids, Steve knew they really needed all the help they could get. In fact, he should probably make regular donations to them. It sounded like a good option, and the agents' money would not be wasted.

As he rolled back to the lab avoiding any agents in his path with ease, he was not going to stop skateboarding a from one area of the helicarrier to another just because Fury did not like it, Steve decided it was time to confirm his suspicions about SHIELD making weapons from the Tesseract.

His search algorithm had yet to report any results, so he sent a discrete query to the mainframe for the location of the cargo holds, and a manifest of their contents. Steve found one cargo manifest flagged top secret, containing something marked as Phase Two.

Steve found that suspicious, but also a bit stupid. He would not have marked anything he wanted to hide as top secret, doing so was just an invitation to look at the contents of that cargo hold.

He made his way to that particular area, overrode the access code and went inside to take a look. What he found froze his blood. There were weapons, lots of them, and most were manufactured following his schematics, but a few were purely HYDRA, and he suspected they came from the Valkyrie.

SHIELD had clearly used his notes to make the weapons, and Hill had had the gall to lie to his face. Steve designed those weapons as a last resort, in case they could not defeat HYDRA by normal means. They were to fight them with equal force.

Steve never intended for those weapons to be used for anything else besides fighting HYDRA. Howard and Peggy knew, and they had promised to keep the schematics from the Army should something happen to him. Obviously someone found them and decided it was a good idea to mass produce them. He was not happy, not happy at all.

* * *

## Discussing Steve

The thick silence in the lab was only broken by soft whimpers and a gasp, which alerted them to Steve waking up. They had a hard time acting normally, but both managed as neither wanted to spook the kid. They needed Steve to trust them so he knew there was a safe place for him. It was only after he left in search of food that they felt free to discuss him.

“You started calling Steve kid after that weird episode he had, why?” Bruce broke the silence deciding to settle on a safer topic. He really did not want the Hulk to come out, specially when he could feel the Other Guy felt extremely protective of the blond man. It never happened before.

He also chose not to comment on the fact Steve had a nightmare. He suspected they all had them. Besides the younger man had been in a war, and actually made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Then he discovered he did not die, awoke seventy years later, and on top of that he was tortured and… molested by those… Beasts. It really would not surprise Bruce if Steve suffered from PTSD.

Bruce was very curious about Steve, there were a lot of things about him that did not add up. While he worked on locating the Tesseract, he had also been going over their conversation earlier. Bruce had questions, but had also come up with some theories.

“Because shockingly, He’s one. In fact, he’s barely legal for a driver’s permit,” Tony responded looking up from the terminal he was working at. “He lied on his enlistment form.”

“Well that is common knowledge, since he tried to enlist a few times. I believe he had to tell them he was from different towns. He also used different last names if I’m not wrong.”

“He lied about his age as well. He told everyone he was twenty-four. He wasn’t Bruce, he was fourteen!” Tony exclaimed surprised at his indignation, and a bit angry with the idiot kid. War was no place for children. “Rogers was literally a **_child_** , still is for that matter. That was part of why he looked so scrawny, and not just because of his health issues. I really don’t know how he managed to fool them.”

“How sure are you of this?” Bruce stared at the work table under which the soldier had curled up earlier taking deep breaths to calm himself. The knuckles of his hand were white as he gripped the desk tightly. It was hard to believe a child had been able to do what Captain America had done. What he was still doing.

“Completely, Rogers is a sixteen year old who looks like he’s at least twenty-three, with an IQ that’s probably as high as ours, and for the most part he has the maturity of an adult. Unless provoked into acting out,” and he waved at the tablet still streaming the playlist.

“Dear God!” Bruce exclaimed and took off his glasses to fiddle with them, a nervous habit he had been unable to get rid off.

The Other Guy was raging, he was demanding to be let out to smash Kraft, and made him aware he had known the little Cap was so young, even if he did not look it. Frankly if they had not been onboard the helicarrier, Bruce would have let him out.

With great effort he calmed himself, and directed his mind to other things. Much as he wanted, it was not the time, or place to plot murder. The kid had actually chosen to go down with a plane to save New York City, at sixteen! It was not an easy decision by any means, specially not for a teenager who had a whole life ahead of him.

“That’s dangerous information,” Bruce said grimly. “SHIELD might have promised to take care of Kraft, but the man was not their only scientist. Then there were also the legal repercussions. Steve was a minor, and would need a guardian, which SHIELD would be only too happy to provide.

“I know. SHIELD would probably try to get guardianship if they knew. They would have too much control over the kid.” Tony paused to think of possible solutions, then added when he reached a decision. “I think I’m going to get his guardianship before someone at SHIELD does, if Steve agrees of course. The pesky agents know not to mess with what’s mine.”

“Hmm… that might not be necessary.” This was the opening he needed to share his theory.

“What do you mean?”

“I think Steve has a guardian. He knows too much about our technology to actually be from the 20s, 30s, or the 40s Tony. So I believe he’s from our time, or perhaps beyond that.” Tony looked startled for a moment, then thoughtful as he considered the idea. “Neither of you told me what you are…”

“We, those like us, call ourselves technopaths,” Tony told him. He saw no need to keep quiet since they had already revealed what they were to his fellow scientist.

“Technopaths… the name does fit,” he mused. “Going back to what I was saying, I suspect that despite the talent,” Bruce went on, “you would actually need to have the barest of knowledge about computers and programming to even attempt to bypass SHIELD’s security. I know you can’t learn to be that proficient in two weeks. Besides, whatever you and Steve think, I KNOW it’s not that simple to hack into SHIELD.

“Frankly, you are the only two I’ve heard about who have managed; and believe me if someone had actually done it besides either of you, it would have been all over the dark recesses of the Internet. SHIELD has many enemies who would handsomely reward anyone who could grant them access to their systems.”

“You’re correct about the hacking,” Tony agreed thoughtfully. He was a genius, so of course he could. But then, Rogers was as well. “It did surprise me when he mentioned it, but I got sidetracked by other things.

“By the way, I think the fact I get through their defenses like they aren’t even there is what drives Fury insane.” The non sequitur just got him a nonplussed look. “Anyway,” Tony went on, “being able to directly interface with the mainframe helps, but yeah, you do need to know what you’re doing to get in. Not only that, a new technopath can get overwhelmed by a simple electronic watch.

“They would definitely go into shock if they interfaced with a smart phone, it’s happened and we all felt it. It’s… not a good thing. All of us, the more experienced ones, have had to shield newbies from technology, regardless of our power level, until they can shield themselves and learn to deal with the world we live in.

“There are three of us in New York City, and I have the longest range. Had Rogers been a newly discovered technopath, I would have sensed him, and would have shielded him, because… Well… it’s like an instinct, we simply cannot not do it. So you’re right, the kid has to actually be from modern times… but I think there was more to your theory?”

“Yes, let’s not forget Steve hypothesis about the gem. He thinks the Tesseract’s plasma energy crystalized due to the effect of time passing, and I’m sure he did not mean only a year or two,” Bruce paused. “The information in the packages we got tells us HYDRA did not get its hands on the Tesseract until the 1940s.

“So there’s no way he would have found it then, and no way for him to have been carrying it when he went down. SHIELD would have found it on him, and they would have certainly taken it.

“The only feasible way for Steve to have the gem is if he found it in this time, but before being placed under surveillance. Which should not be possible if he was from the forties. From what we read, and his own complaints, SHIELD has not taken its eyes off him since he awoke.”

“Hmm… complicated, but actually it makes kind of sense. You think the gem did not transport him to a where, but a when instead. Perhaps it does not have enough power to create a bridge between places, so it bridged times.

“That’s an interesting hypothesis, I think Doctor Foster, Point Break’s lady friend might be interested,” Tony mused and Bruce nodded. “Okay, so the gem sent the boy to the forties.

“Steve most probably knew Captain America’s history, as well as the fact that he looked a hell of a lot like the man did in wimp form,” Bruce snorted at his description.

“We have to assume he simply went ahead and did what he had obviously already done.” Tony shuddered realizing the kid must have known he was going to die, along with the when and the how. It was a sobering thought because Steve still went and did it.

“He had to if he wanted to avoid a paradox. The kid’s clearly smart enough to understand the repercussions,” Bruce pointed out. “It also explains his reticence to speak about ‘when’ he opened the portal.

“If he’s sixteen now, he had to have been at least thirteen when he went back, which means there are probably parents around somewhere, unless he’s an orphan.”

“I can see that, but if he has family why has he not contacted…” He trailed off, “never mind. SHIELD’s been keeping a very close eye on him, anyone in his situation would not risk their families.

“Also, being a technopath would have told him about any of the electronic bugs, and perhaps his war training helped him locate anyone tailing him.” He paused. “You know if SHIELD scientists want him now, they’ll be breaking every law possible to get their hands on a time traveller.”

“Then we keep this to ourselves,” Bruce told him firmly.

“Agreed. I’ll have JARVIS do a bit of detective work anyway. Have him search for any matches for a Steven Grant Rogers under the age of fifteen, blond, blue eyed, and with an illness list a mile wide.”

“Not a bad idea, maybe you can contact the parents and warn them. By the way, how did you find out about his age?”

“When I helped him clear up his mind from the file dump I came across the information. Thanks to SHIELD, He’s been on edge since he awoke from the ice. Steve has been pretending not to be affected, which he clearly is.

“It appears he had succeeded in convincing SHIELD until Hill brought up the debriefing. But someone finding about his real age is one of his main concerns, so it was at the forefront of his mind. Steve really hasn’t slept a full night since Kraft got his dirty paws on him.”

* * *

It actually took JARVIS only fifteen minutes to locate a Steven Grant Rogers matching Captain America’s description and background. His parents were indeed Sarah and Joseph Rogers, a discharged military nurse and a soldier respectively. The father was killed in Afghanistan when the boy was two.

Steve was born in Brooklyn, but ended in one of the USA military bases in Italy, when the parents were deployed there. He had been only a few months old. The fact he had not stayed in America during his early years explained why no technopath knew about him. Their Italian had been a kid then as well, but he lived very close to France, and far from the base where the Cap’s parents had been deployed.

Giacomo had been lucky to be detected by one of the French. Steve clearly was not, he coped on his own, and had actually been believed to be autistic until after his father’s death. The child probably communicated with tech only, and ignored humans initially.

The younger Steven had disappeared from their home on February 2 of that year, the mother had reported the disappearance to the police. He was twelve years old when it happened. His birthdate was July 4 of 1999. Steven Grant Rogers had a very frail health, and spent a lot of his time in hospitals.

The boy had had little to do but read, and learn, besides interfacing with tech while there. He was recognized as a child prodigy, and at the age of six won the Maria Stark Foundation’s Grant, something usually only adults won. The grant allowed the mother to pay tutors to home school her son.

The boy graduated last year from MIT, when he was still eleven, with dual Masters; one in Mechanical Engineering, and one in Computers and Philosophy. There was little wonder now as to why, and how, the kid was so good with computers. His Master Thesis had been on the algorithms to assist AI in learning human emotions.

* * *

## Contacting Sarah Rogers

JARVIS easily located the kid’s mother’s cel phone’s number, and patched him through to Mrs Rogers. The woman had a surprisingly pleasant voice, and did not act awe struck when she learnt who was calling. Brownie points to her. She was cautious initially, but opened up as soon as Tony explained why he was calling.

Mrs Rogers was definitely very concerned about her son when she heard some unscrupulous scientist wanted to run tests on her boy. Tony chose not to tell the woman more than that. It would be up to the kid to confide in his mother. He told her SHIELD’S Director had threatened to take action against the men should they try anything, but Tony was concerned he would not if they found out Steve was a minor.

She told Tony Steve had contacted her as soon as he realized what happened and where he was. He had thought on his feet, and used the cell phones around him to communicate through text messages with her. She had no idea how Steve managed to do that.

Steve told her he used that method to ensure there was no possibility of SHIELD tracking him. Since then the kid had reported daily, and even got to see his mother, and let her see him a few times. But Steve did not approach her as he could not completely shake his tail.

Mrs Rogers knew her son was not the twenty-something he was pretending to be, as Steve had told her his age in a roundabout way. The Super Soldier Serum had aged him physically, and he had been ‘away’ for four years.

So Sarah was not surprised when Tony brought up the issue of adopting Steve. She could admit to being barely able to make ends meet, and to having to leave her son unsupervised most of the day so she could work to support him, as well as pay the ever increasing medical bills.

SHIELD could use those as arguments to have the boy removed from her custody, and placed into theirs, something that nearly had Mrs Rogers up in arms. No one was taking her son away from her, she would do whatever it took to keep him with her, specially after getting him back when she had believed him dead.

By her words, Tony could tell Sarah Rogers was a formidable woman, who adored her son, and was willing to do anything to protect him. For a moment, Tony thought of his own mother, and wished she had been as protective of him, as Sarah Rogers was of Steve. Even a fraction of that protectiveness would have made his childhood happier, and more bearable.

Tony told Mrs Rogers that by adopting Steve as a second parent he would be in charge of supporting them, Something she was not very happy about. The woman did not want charity, which Tony was quick to point out it was not. Having his money backing her up would remove one of the arguments SHIELD could use to take custody of Steve from her.

His money would also serve to provide them with the services of his very capable lawyers to fend off SHIELD, and any other agency trying to get their hands on Steve. Both SHIELD and the government had learned by then not to mess with him, to which she had to agree, as she did remember his very public appearance in congress about the Iron Man suit.

Tony told her he planned on offering Steve a job as his personal assistant for anything technical. He was a genius, and that intelligence should not be wasted, which it would be if Steve became a simple agent for SHIELD. He suspected that had been the agency’s Director’s original plan, before one of his scientists decided to disobey orders.

He also told Mrs Rogers the adoption arrangement included an apartment at the tower for them, or two if Steve wanted to have some independence since he had been living on his own for four years. Either way, she would be close to her son. They would of course live rent free with all services covered.

The tower was one of the most secure, if not the most secure building in New York City, so it would be extremely hard for someone to get to Steve, or to her. It would also allow Steve to be available for Tony, although they could discuss the job description at a later time.

Sarah was thoughtful, the offer was extremely generous, but the insistence on keeping Steve safe made her suspicious. Besides, something was telling her those men had already hurt her son… Perhaps it was the underlying note of anger in Stark’s voice when he mentioned them.

“Your offer is very generous Mr Stark…” Sarah began.

“Tony,” he corrected, “Mr Stark was my father.”

“Okay Tony,” she conceded. “As I was saying your offer is very generous, but I can’t help but be concerned for Steve.”

“You shouldn’t worry Mrs Rogers, the kid’s fine,” he reassured her.

“Call me Sarah Tony, and think of this as mother’s intuition, but those… Scientist are not just planning to hurt my son, they have already done something to him…” Her voice had a hard edge of fury underneath the concern for her child.

“Sarah…” Tony began a bit surprised. He really did not want to be the one to tell her, it should be Steve because the kid had not confided in them. He and Bruce only knew because JARVIS had done some detective work.

“What did those men do to Steve?” She insisted. “They clearly did something, because your voice turns to steel just mentioning them. Please Tony, I need to know, did those men hurt my boy?”

Tony sighed, he should lie to her but found out he could not, although he was not willing to tell her everything. “These men managed to incapacitate Steve, and did some tests on him against his will. They wanted to assess his healing abilities.” He heard her gasp. “They also took several samples from him without his consent.”

“He’s hurt?” She asked worried.

“No, your boy does heal much faster than the rest of us, and that happened the day he awoke. Those bastards have left him alone since then, but I know their kind, and they will try again. This is why I contacted you about adopting him.

“Right now SHIELD doesn’t know about him being a minor, but if the SSR, who were the ones in charge of Project Rebirth, knew about it then it’s bound to be recorded somewhere. Sooner or later they will find out.

“Finding out about his time travelling will be harder. Steve’s being very cautious about keeping that from SHIELD, and he might pull it off.”

“If we go through with the adoption they will find out Tony, they will learn I’m his mother, and he was supposed to be twelve years old,” Sarah pointed out.

“Not necessarily, adoption records are sealed until the child turns eighteen. I also have ways to hide them to make it harder for them to find. Then it’s common knowledge Sarah Rogers was a nurse and Captain America’s mother.

“What no one knows is the fact she was born in 1976. We’ll just let everyone keep assuming you were born at the turn of the century by hiding any information about your date of birth.

“You’ll still appear as his mother, and be his guardian, they will just find it harder to find out the Sarah Rogers from his official documents is the same one born in 1976. Should they ever find out, and his time travelling comes to the light, they won’t be able to do anything legally to get his custody.”

“Okay then,” she said after she thought it through. “I agree to let you adopt Steve Tony. So how do we do this?”

Tony had explained time was of essence, as SHIELD was distracted with some crisis. A good number of their resources were dedicated to solve it, so they would not notice Tony’s lawyers working behind their backs. The crisis SHIELD was working on was also the reason both Steve and Tony were at that agency’s secret base.

“My lawyer, Alan Rutherford, will call you in a few minutes,” Tony informed her. “He will explain the procedures, and tell you what you need to do.”

“I’ll wait for his call. I just hope we’re doing the right thing.”

“We are, by letting me adopt him, you’re giving me the legal right to demand SHIELD have those who hurt Steve detained, and to make them pay for what they did.” He and Bruce were plotting murder to avenge Steve, but Sarah did not need to know that.

With her agreement, Tony hung up and called his lawyers. He explained what he wanted, and the fact he wanted it ASAP. Since the mother was giving her consent for the minor to be adopted, it would be a joint guardianship, and it was done for the boy’s protection, his main lawyer believed they could get all passed by no later than the end of the week.

It would help their case immensely if Tony sent them the files on the testing the scientist had already done, and what they planned to do. This gave Tony several ideas on how to explain Steve’s grown up looks, but he would have to run them by Bruce, and the kid himself, to know which one they could use. It might also solve the problem of what to do with Kraft.

His lawyer would have the pertinent documents redacted in a couple of hours, and he would send one of the aides to collect all the necessary signatures from Mrs Rogers. Then they would proceed to present them at the Family Court in Brooklyn, which was were the boy and his mother lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author’s note:** This is just a brief note on the adoption process. I know it takes more time than that to go through the legalities for an adoption even when there’s one parent giving their consent for it. But well this is fanfiction, and let’s just speed the process for the story’s sake.


	11. Arguments Abound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
>  **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ **Completely totally AU** , _Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
>  **Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who is reading, the ones who have favorited, and are following the story. The same to those at AO3 who left Kudos, Bookmarked, and/or commented. I have plans to go all the way to Iron Man 3 with the story, and depending how things work I could probably go all the way to the Winter Soldier (I don't know why, but writing Bucky is not easy for me, I've tried in a few other of the fics I haven't posted yet, but I can't seem to get him right), and some of Age of Ultron.
> 
> Hmm... Steve/Wanda... Might work as they'd be close in age... But I'm getting ahead of time, these two plots are way into the future, and only posibilities I might explore. 
> 
> What I'm definitely NOT going to go through is Civil War, comic or movie. I'm in denial, period. That does not exist in the world I'm writing about. I saw one trailer, and I'm definitely not watching the other, I fear it might kill the muses. It has happened before with my Harry Potter stories.
> 
>  ** _WARNING:_** _The last part of the chapter deals with a rather disturbing subject. Kraft and Co. Get what's coming to them. I tried not to be too descriptive, and make it as light as possible, but I'm not sure if I managed convey what happened without it getting gory. I was in a rather vindictive mood when I wrote it, though. Anyway, there's a warning before that part starts so you can skip it if you like. Just know they did pay dearly. Also, if I was too vague, or it isn't too clear, I would appreciate some feedback._
> 
>  **Total size without notes:** 6,298
> 
>  ** _Keys:_**  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## Arguments abound

Tony had just received a message from his lawyers confirming Mrs Rogers had signed the documents with her consent to allow him to adopt her son. Alan Rutherford, who was his main lawyer when it came to paternity lawsuits, and Steve's mother had actually met at the Brooklyn Family court so he could present the documents without delay.

Rutherford and Meyers, who was his partner at the law firm, had several contacts who owed them a few favors, and they would speed the process as much as possible. Rutherford had also proved to be one of his people with initiative, and had convinced Mrs Rogers to also make a Will.

Powerful people were after her son, and it was better to be prepared for any eventuality. Tony did not think, at least he really hoped it would not, come to that. But Rutherford was right, better be prepared. For his part, Meyers was ensuring none of the procedures would be leaked to the press, which was perfect. Steve did not need the notoriety of being Tony Stark's adoptive son.

Tony knew he should have probably told Steve about his plans to adopt him. But knowing how dangerous the situation could get for the kid, Tony decided it was better to ask for the boy's forgiveness than ask for his permission. There was simply no way he was leaving SHIELD any chance to gain control over Steve.

The pirate might not have ominous intentions towards the kid, but several of his scientists certainly did. Tony knew it was not just Kraft who was obsessed with getting Super Soldiers, and that was just within SHIELD; who knew how many would be after him of those in the military, or contracted to them? Never mind their many enemies.

Tony also knew he should have warned Pepper about it. They were together, and he was doing his best for their relationship to work, but time was of essence; and at the moment SHIELD was distracted with the search for the Tesseract. It was the best time to act behind their backs.

As to Steve's adoption, Tony was not sure if Pepper would approve of him becoming the parent of a teenager, albeit a brilliant one, and who was most likely more mature than he was. Specially when in the past he had been avoiding fatherhood like the plague. But it was not like Steve was a little kid and needed him to act like a father.

Back in the forties, Steve had lived on his own since he was twelve. He could take care of himself. In fact he did a better job at raising himself than Tony could ever hope to do. Besides, he was sure Steve would most likely end in his mother's care, at least for a while. He would be turning seventeen that year after all.

Tony's plan was to basically take care of their financial support, their living conditions, and Steve's protection; whether it was legal, or it required a more violent response. Tony would also ensure Steve's brilliant mind was not wasted.

He would provide Steve with as many opportunities to further his studies as he desired. Besides, if the kid was specialized in Artificial intelligence, there was nothing better than to work with the most advanced AI in the world. Tony was sure Steve was going to love JARVIS once he introduced them.

With Steve's protection on the works, Tony's mind was free to concentrate on other things. Like making sure the programs working on locating the Tesseract were running smoothly. The H.O.M.E.R Cluster was making a huge difference.

They had nothing more to do for the time being except for waiting, and plotting murder. Who would have thought mild mannered doctor Bruce Banner was so creative and vindictive? He certainly did not look it, but he had been travelling all over the world for years, and had learned a few things from each culture he encountered.

Not long after they began their plotting, JARVIS monitoring of the helicarrier's mainframe yielded some good news. Coulson, along with Natashalie, and a STRIKE team had detained Kraft, Wilkins, and Frampton. The three who raped Steve. Plus all of those working under Kraft on board.

According to the report, the trio had been trying to find a way to get a hold of the Super Soldier while on board of the helicarrier with no one the wiser. That only made his and Bruce's blood boil. How dare those motherfuckers even think about it? The Hulk almost came out to smash them into a pulp, and it was a miracle Bruce managed to keep him under control.

The report on the system stated they had resisted detention, and it was necessary to use excessive, although regretfully not lethal, force. Tony had been unable to hide the sadistic grin at those news, and Bruce had joined him.

A peek at the surveillance feeds let Tony know Frampton and Wilkins thought they knew better, and had truly not resisted. Which clearly had been worth nothing because Romanoff had no mercy on them. The one named Frampton had broken down after the first couple of kicks and punches.

Wilkins on the other part was a sadistic pervert, who taunted her and Agent by describing just how Captain America had cried and begged not to be touched, and what a good fuck he had been. Tony had never imagined Agent's expression could be anything but bland, or the fact Natashalie could actually be anything but expressionless. But murderous was too mild to describe the way both had looked at those words.

Tony knew then Wilkins had just signed his death warrant for taunting them. Agent was a rabid Captain America fanboy, he was not letting anyone speak about his hero that way. He had punched Wilkins only once, then when the man mocked him, Agent simply told Romanoff she could do as she pleased with the scum. Wilkins did not need his balls to live after all.

Romanoff actually smiled, a sadistic kind of smile which let Wilkins know he was fucked. It was only then when the asshole realized he was in very, very deep shit, and those two agents were not playing by the book, with Fury's blessing to booth.

For his part Agent went after Kraft himself, who did resist once he realized Fury was making good on whatever the one eyed spy had threatened him with before he laid a hand on Rogers. Tony was dumfounded to see just what Coulson was capable of, he really did not expect it from the mild mannered man.

Agent proved why he had reached so high in SHIELD's ladder. He simply took off his jacket, tie, vest, and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Then proceeded to give the mad scientist a lesson in well applied Martial Arts, which to his surprise Kraft actually knew. But the doctor was no match for Agent, and Tony witnessed the Agent teach Kraft a lesson in a hundred and one ways to turn a man's family jewels into mince meat.

He was creative, Tony had to give him that. But on the other side of the lab Romanoff was making Wilkins cry like a baby, and sing like a soprano. She was the most creative of the two, and way, way too terrifying.

Tony made a mental note to NEVER, EVER, EVER make that particular woman angry... Never ever. But specially, he must not let her and Pepper talk. If they ever joined forces... He shuddered in something akin to terror at the thought.

Knowing those animals had been detained did not ease Bruce's anger by much. So Tony let him see the surveillance videos of it to appease him, and hopefully the Hulk as well. Bruce did calm a bit, loosing the green tinge to his skin and eyes. The Hulk was mildly appeased by the thorough smashing those three received.

After they finished with the videos and the report, Tony and Bruce were planning on locating the mess hall and grabbing something to eat. Plotting murder was hungry work, while the spies had done a good job, neither he, nor Bruce believed it was enough. Even if he did not look it, Steve was a sixteen year old boy, and he should have never been put through what they did to him.

Once they ate something, the two of them planned on finding out wherever Steve got himself into. He should have been back a while ago, but he had not returned. The beasts who hurt Steve were finally locked up, and would be unable to hurt him again. Still, Tony could not help but worry, and from the looks of it, Bruce was starting to worry as well.

When Tony pinged the kid's mind, he had only gotten an angry growl in return. Steve was not angry at him, that much Tony could tell. But the fact the kid was practically vibrating with it just left him concerned. Unfortunately their plans were disrupted when Fury chose that moment to irrupt into the lab, sounding not at all pleased.

"What are you doing, Mr Stark?" Nick demanded as he entered the lab. A glance showed him Rogers was not there, and he should be.

"Ahh... Kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Tony said nonchalantly at the same time he fiddled with a monitor, mentally locating the information he needed, and having it displayed there.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract," he stated, "not torturing my agents with stupid music. Stop it this instant," Nick demanded.

"We are, looking for the Cube that is," Bruce interjected unable to hide his grin, "the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now." Fury did spare him a glare, since it was clear he knew about the music. "When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"Yeah, then you get your Cube back. No muss, no fuss," Tony added. "By the way I'm innocent," he raised both hands and gave Fury his most innocent look, not that it was all that convincing. He probably should work on it. "I have nothing to do with... music you say?"

"Stark, you have been playing earworms to my agents for hours! This stops now!" He was pissed. No, he was murderous. "And where the fuck is Rogers? He was supposed to be here."

A few minutes earlier he had been in the control room to check what the two geniuses, and one shockingly smart Captain were doing. He now had _The never Ending Song_ playing ceaselessly in his mind when he needed all his concentration on the crisis at hand. If he could get away with shooting Stark—even if it was on the little toe—he would without thinking twice.

"Steve was hungry," Bruce responded. "He went in search of the mess hall, where we planned to go as well before you arrived."

"Hey, don't blame that on me. I really did nothing." Fury actually growled at him, and Tony wondered just what song was torturing him at the moment. Then with fake curiosity, he enquired, "What is Phase two?"

Steve was the one who answered coming in at Tony's question and dropping a rather large gun on a work table. He was not pleased his suspicions had been confirmed. There had been a lot of different types of weapons in that particular cargo hold, most of them his creations.

"Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the Cube, my designs, and notes to make weapons. Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me."

 _Tony: /No problem, we had our suspicions, and it's clear you did as well. It seems SHIELD has many more secrets than we thought; and you designed that one?_ \ He was rather impressed, as a former weapons designer he could appreciate the lines of that gun, and had they had time he would have liked to engage in a discussion as to what were its specs.

 _Steve: /Yeah, they were only ever intended to fight against HYDRA. Hill lied to my face. They got all my notes and the schematics for everything I designed while I was working for the SSR. To make matters worse they have a whole lot of my weapons on board, plus a few HYDRA ones._ \

 _Tony: /If they have them, why didn't they know it was you who created them?_ \ He was puzzled.

 _Steve: /I don't know, but I'm not happy. Will you release the surveillance control? At this point I don't mind shocking Fury if you want me to take the heat from you. I started it after all, and it's my playlist._ \

 _Tony: /Nah, let's leave it for the moment, I'm more interested in the weapons. I wonder how he's going to explain them._ \

 _Steve: /I've been asking myself the same. By they way, can you recommend a good patent lawyer? I did patent all my designs for 150 years._ \

Tony did not respond, he just mentally cackled—rather evilly—which clearly meant he was going to give hell to SHIELD. The exchange between them had lasted less than a minute, and Steve was astounded to realize just how much faster their brains shared information compared to simply speaking. He would have to ask Tony later about it.

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract, and we truly did not know you were the one who wrote those notes on the weapons—"

"Those notebooks had my initials all over them!" Steve interrupted in a tone that clearly said _how stupid are you and your people?_ "In fact, I'm certain my full name is in there as well. How many people do you think there were working for the SSR with the initials SGR? Let me tell you, only one, me."

"—look, I ignore why you weren't credited for them, but now we know you will get due recognition for your work," he said placatingly at the same time he wondered why no one connected the initials to the name when they unearthed those notes after the Puente Antiguo incident. Because it was then when Phase two began. "This does not mean that we're the ones making..."

Just what he needed, another major clusterfuck with Rogers, and SHIELD was going to make an enemy out of Captain America. Nick was not sure it would be in their best interest to end in worse terms than they already were. It was painfully clear they no longer had any chance at earning the young man's trust.

"I'm sorry Nick, what were you lying?" Tony enquired showing them a screen with the schematics of one of the weapons SHIELD had been working on.

"I was wrong Director, the world hasn't changed a bit," Steve said sounding disappointed, although not surprised, because even as a modern kid he had known it. "Those weapons were only to be used against HYDRA, as a last resort. They are no more. There is nothing that justifies producing them now," Steve told him with barely controlled anger.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce demanded of agent Romanoff and the Asgardian, when they entered the lab.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" While it was phrased like a suggestion, Natasha's tone implied it was more like an order.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed," he told her ironically. It was them who thought it a good idea to bring him into a flying fortress.

"Loki is manipulating you," she tried to reason.

"And you've been doing what, exactly?" The gall of that woman.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you," she retorted.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because you suddenly get a little twitchy." He snapped at her, then went to one of the monitors. It displayed the schematics for a missile. A quick glance at Tony let him know it was the older technopath who put it there. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction."

"That's not mine, and neither is it HYDRA's" Steve said looking at the thing more than a bit horrified. He had connected with the terminal, and read the missile's specks.

Steve did not like the kind of damage such a missile would do. It seemed SHIELD's engineers had been either getting creative, or they were relatively decent at copying and adapting tech. For his part, Steve had chosen not to design any missiles because the risk of civilian casualties was too high for his liking. He could not compromise over the protection of innocent lives.

"I never designed any missiles, the risk of civilian casualties is way to high with those involved."

"We created them Because of him," Fury said pointing at Thor. Perhaps that would ease the Captain's anger, once he realized the danger otherworldy visitors represented.

"Me?" Thor asked rather confused at being dragged into the argument.

He had simply come to Midgard to protect it from Loki and his allies. So it was extremely disconcerting to suddenly find himself accused of being the cause for the SHIELD to start making weapons using the Tesseract.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet," Nick began explaining, "who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned than not only are we not alone, but we're hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned." He doubted anything they sent against The Destroyer would have been of any use. But Rogers weapons? They would have made a difference.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor stated. Asgard, as a whole, had no true interest in Midgard. It was actually only him who did, after being exiled on the realm and meeting his friends.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Nick chose not to remind them of the other Asgardian on the ship, who clearly wanted something with Earth. To rule it. "And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve decided to point out. He did not like what he was hearing.

Fury's words did provide an explanation as to the extensive surveillance he had been subjected to. He was clearly not considered a normal human, and had proven to be difficult to control. They considered him a threat.

Steve was truly glad he chose to be cautious, and not visit his mother. SHIELD must not find out either his age, the fact he was a technopath, or his time travel. It would only give them more things to be wary of.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the Realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war," Thor saw fit to inform them. The Tesseract was simply too powerful, and a very coveted item. It was why the All-father had it hidden on Midgard when the Midgardians were not able to use it.

"A higher form?" Nick snapped. That was rich. "You forced our hand. We had to come up with..."

"A nuclear deterrent," Tony interrupted, "because that always calms everything right down." His tone was heavily laden with sarcasm.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark," Nick demanded.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons Stark..." Steve trailed off.

He had been about to rant at Tony about making weapons, which would make him a hypocrite since he had done the same. In fact, one of his weapons was on the table. Something was definitely wrong, and whatever it was, was making them angry, and willing to be at each other's throats at the slightest provocation. His eyes then settled on the scepter. It was glowing much brighter.

 _Steve: /Something's wrong, Tony. The jewel on the scepter is beginning to glow._ \ He said tightening his mental shields, and trying for a shielded connection with the older technopath's mind.

Steve had never done it with another human, but he did know how to establish one such connection with tech. He just hoped he did it right. Although, the moment his shields were up, the anger went down exponentially.

 _Steve: /Shield as tight as you can,\_ he added. _/It seems to work... At least for us.\_

 _Tony: /I can see that,_ \ he responded doing as the kid suggested, and immediately noticed the difference. He turned to look at the glowing gem on the scepter. _/We can protect ourselves from the scepter's influence, but the others don't have the ability to create mental shields. If we don't do anything we're going to have a fight on our hands. Any suggestions kid?_ \

 _Steve: /Plastic?_ \ he sent a bit hesitant, not sure what else they could do to protect themselves from the Gem's influence.

 _Tony: /It's worth a try,_ \ he agreed as he tried to find another solution and not coming up with anything else. _/It worked with the little one. I think there's a roll of bubble wrap by the last table._ \

"Captain?" Nick turned to look at the soldier puzzled.

Rogers had simply trailed off when he seemed about to start ranting at Stark. Then he abruptly went to the back of the lab. To his surprise the Cap tossed a roll of, of all things, bubble wrap to Stark. The genius then tossed it to Banner who had a look of understanding on his face, and proceeded to wrap the scepter's jewel tightly with it.

As soon as Banner had a few layers encasing the jewel Nick began to relax. The anger, while there, was not unmanageable. He no longer felt the need to start an argument, or to verbally eviscerate anyone. Well, he still wanted to shoot Stark, but that was actually normal. He could also see the tension on the others diminish noticeably.

"Can any of you assholes explain why part of the fucking scepter is now covered in bubble wrap, and why we were about to go at each other like cats and dogs?" He directed a glare at each of the three men involved, and one to the Asgardian when he appeared to be about to ask something. Probably what cats and dogs were.

"I hold no animosity towards Tony," Steve began. The use of Stark's first name shocked Fury, "and I am not one to usually go off on a rant without reason. I designed weapons—even before I joined the Army—so why would I go off at Tony for the same thing. It just wasn't right... It wasn't... me."

"And why would that lead you to toss bubble wrap to Stark?" Nick asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"When I trailed off I noticed the scepter's jewel was glowing, which it had not done previously. I thought, well... plastic is chemically inert..." Steve began explaining with a shrug.

"It's also an insulator," Tony went on. "I noticed the glow when Steve stared at it, and I was angry at him and Bruce for no reason. So the logical answer was that thing," and he pointed to the scepter, "had to be manipulating us."

"We had discussed earlier the fact HYDRA used plastic as the material to contain the energy they obtained from the Tesseract, and which was used to power their weapons. So I just put two and two together when I saw the glowing jewel and the bubble wrap Tony tossed at me," Bruce added with a shrug. He had started to loose control on the Hulk, and that would have been disastrous.

"And you just happened to know plastic would work, Rogers?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"No, I was not sure it would. That jewel is a lot larger than anything I worked with before. But as Bruce just mentioned, the HYDRA weapons' power source container," he signalled the gun on the table, "was made of plastic. I documented this, and your people clearly knew about it since they followed my schematics to the letter as well, and it worked, or else there would have been modifications to the design."

"I would say normally simple plastic is a useless protection against gamma rays. It doesn't have the necessary density," Bruce mused thoughtfully. He scanned the scepter. "The readings prove it, there are no deviations from previous ones; but the plastic IS blocking something. We are no longer at each other's throats."

"That has to be the 'magic'," Tony used his fingers to quote the word. "It's clearly an energy we have not detected yet. We need to do more tests, and identify this energy."

"I agree, this bears more research," Steve told them. He did not think he had enough knowledge about gamma radiation to add to that discussion though. "But let's remain focused. Why does Loki want us fighting each other? It's clear he can manipulate that thing when he isn't even in the room, he could have done it much earlier. So why now?"

"Because we're not the team you want us to be, Director," Bruce told Fury. "We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're a time bomb... or would have been if we hadn't blocked the scepter's influence."

"You need to step away," Fury told the scientist. Loki was trying to unleash the Hulk, so the least they needed was Banner getting angry.

"No he doesn't," both Steve and Tony said at the same time. Fury turned to look at them with his only eyebrow raised. Steve nodded at Tony signalling for him to speak first.

"Bruce has a tight leash on his temper, enough that he can allow himself to let off some steam." After watching those surveillance videos of Kraft, and keeping the Hulk at bay, Tony knew a little argument was not going to result in the Hulk making an appearance.

"Listen, Stark," Nick began since he was not inclined to believe the billionaire.

"I agree with Tony, the Hulk isn't making an appearance because of an argument," Steve interrupted. "You're loosing focus though. Why is the scepter affecting us now? What does Loki gain from it? That is what you should be concentrating on, not on Bruce's well controlled temper."

"Divide and conquer, plain and simple," Tony deducted. He, Bruce, and Steve got along well enough, but the other two members and Fury himself had not factored in the equation.

"Son of a bitch! He's preparing to make a move," Nick deducted.

At that moment they got a positive alert. The algorithm had located the Tesseract. Bruce immediately went to check the console, and see where it actually was. The readings he was seeing were definitely NOT good, and did not bode well for them. It was somewhere in the vicinity of New York City, and moving.

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I could get there faster," Tony offered.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it," Thor boomed. He had to take the Cube back to Asgard where it would be safe.

"You're not going alone," Steve said stopping Tony from leaving the room.

"Are you going to stop me?"

"No. We don't know what we're facing, or how many men Loki has. He has two men under his control with enough contacts to raise a well equipped mercenary army in little time Tony. Backup might well be a necessity," he told the older man, concern in his voice.

 _Steve: /This time we need a better plan than just attack, Tony. We can't risk being at odds with each other, or Loki wins and we loose the Tesseract as well as the Earth,_ \ he told the other man reasonably.

 _Tony: /Just so you know, kid, I so hate when someone other than me is right./_ He sent him a mental pout, and turned to look at Bruce.

"Oh my God," Bruce exclaimed, so both Steve and Tony linked to the tracker and knew things were going south in a hand basket.

There were two locations, one approaching New York City, probably the Tesseract since it emitted the stronger signal. The other was very faint, but it was practically on top of the helicarrier.

"Sound the alarm now! We're about to be under attack," both Steve and Tony warned.

Then it happened, a huge explosion rocked the whole ship. Fire burst up from the lab's floor before it collapsed. Everyone was sent flying, with Bruce and Natasha falling out of the window. With an effort Steve and Tony managed to get on their feet unsteadily. There were alarms blaring and a lot of smoke.

"Put on the suit," Steve told Tony as they scrambled out of the lab. He then needed to get to his shield, and get his hands on a gun and ammo.

"Yeah," Tony agreed as he stumbled through the door followed by the kid.

* * *

"Hill!" Nick demanded a report as he tried to regain his balance, and clear his ears from the ringing.

"External detonation!" she informed him. Then began a status report. "Number three engine is down. We've been hit. Can they get it running?" she asked the technicians.

"Fire in engine three!" someone reported.

"Talk to me," Maria demanded as she made her way to the technician.

"Turbine looks mostly intact," one of the operators informed her. "But it's impossible to get out there to make repairs while we're in the air."

"If we lose one more engine, we won't be," Maria said concerned. "Somebody's got to get outside and patch that engine" She reported to Fury.

"Stark, you copy that?" Nick asked the man. He was probably the only one who could do something about the damaged engine. Not just because he could fly in that suit of his, but he was a mechanic as well.

"I'm on it," Tony responded.

"Coulson, initiate defensive lockdown in the detention section," Nick instructed. They needed to keep Loki contained, as this was clearly a rescue attemp. "Then get to the armory." Barton, but specially Phelps, knew about the Phase Two weapons. Loki's people must not gain access to them. "Romanoff?"

Natasha was unharmed, if a bit banged up. Her only real problem was that one of her ankles was trapped under some debris from the explosion. That was not what was making her nervous though, what was, were the angry growls and noises coming from Banner.

"We're okay," she reported to Fury, then she turned to the doctor. "We're okay right?" she asked Banner. Who actually did not look okay at all. "Doctor?" Natasha asked but got no response except some angry sounding groans and deep breathing. "Bruce?" she tried again with no result. "You got to fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're going to be Okay. Listen to me." Two crew members came running to them.

"Are you hurt?" the one in the lead asked. Natasha signalled for them to get away, and thankfully they heeded her warning. But their presence only made things worse with the doctor.

"We're going to be okay. All right?" She kept trying to calm him, to stall an appearance from the Hulk. "I swear on my life, I will get you out of this. You will walk away and never ever..."

"Your life?" Bruce growled with more than a hint of the Hulk in his voice.

Bruce had kept him under control for way too long, and Hulk wanted out. There were people to smash, the Hulk reminded him. Those puny humans who hurt the little Cap. They had to pay, they had to be smashed so they would never hurt the little one again.

But Bruce was resisting, saying it was not time yet for the Hulk to come out. Hulk did know just what to do to make Bruce angrier, to make him want to smash as much as Hulk did. Revisiting the memory of Kraft laughing at the little Cap's pleas and tears was enough. With a fierce, furious growl, Bruce let go and Hulk finally came out.

"Bruce," Natasha said when Banner gave her an apologetic look before he lost complete control.

* * *

## Smash is not enough

Hulk roared as he moved following the red headed human female, destroying anything and everything in his path. The fact he had somewhere to go, and something to do, did not mean he could not do some smashing on the way. Smashing was good.

She was not his prey, she was just in his path. He was angry like he had seldom been before, and would have simply smashed the female out of his way, but Bruce did not want her destroyed, and since for once they agreed on smashing something, Hulk would listen to Bruce.

The Hulk extended his arm, and managed to grab the red and black... Spider. Bruce thought of her as one, and so Hulk chose to do the same. She struggled and screamed, but he was not interested in hurting her, even if the noise was annoying. Still, he was rather careful not to squish the human like spider, and Hulk simply put her aside atop some stairs, out of his way.

"Hulk no smash Spider, if spider is out of Hulk's way," he told her and then turned to go in search of those he and Bruce wanted to smash.

* * *

Natasha's knees gave out under her, and she just folded on the floor, hugging herself and trembling. She was trained to kill, and was probably SHIELD's most deadly agent, but even with all her training she had been no match for the Hulk.

She had thought her life was over the moment he grabbed her, and yet, he let her go. Natasha had never heard of that happening before. Hulk was even somewhat gentle, or what passed for gentle with him, and left her unharmed, if terribly shaken.

He did warn her not to get in his way, and Natasha was very much inclined to heed the warning. So she could only stare at the path of destruction he left in his wake as she tried to regain her composure.

* * *

Finding those who hurt the little Cap was not hard, Bruce knew where, so he simply went that way. Those bad men were locked in rooms, past a strange room Bruce knew as a place of healing. There was a tall metal table stuck to the floor, and Hulk stopped to observe it a bit contemplative.

Hulk was very, very angry, and Bruce was furious. Bruce wanted those bad men who hurt the little Cap to suffer, and Hulk... Hulk liked the idea very, very much. Normally Hulk would just smash those who made him angry, but for the first time ever smashing was not enough.

Hulk understood what the men did to the little Cap on an instinctive level, just as he knew it was wrong. Hulk did not need Bruce to tell him that. But he did not know what to do to make them suffer and pay for hurting a little one so bad, even if the little Cap did not look so little. Then Bruce thought _the punishment should fit the crime_ and Hulk grinned as he looked at the table. He would even get to do some smashing

 

 _\-  Warning Starts here_ \- _Warning_ \- _Warning Starts here_ -

 

 

The Hulk was not the only one who heard the terrified, then agonizing screams of those who hurt little Cap. There had been others, many others trapped behind the flimsy metal doors and walls. Hulk had roared and growled at them, and he was satisfied they screamed in terror because they were unable to escape.

Those puny humans worked for the one who hurt little Cap, but had not hurt him themselves. Hulk would let them live, but he did give them a message to remember. Hurt the little Cap, and what he would do to the three others, he would do to them. No one hurt who Hulk protected, they could try, but they would not live.

Hulk had... Gone for the agents first, smacked them a bit, then took them to the room with the table. They had fought wildly, cried, and screamed but their strength was nothing compared to Hulk's. The noises they made only making those others in the tiny metal rooms join in terror filled screams, and hysterical crying.

The doctor went last because Hulk wanted him to see Hulk's handy work. He wanted him to see the two others were not yet dead, they were still in terrible pain, but would be soon dead. This cowardly man fought, screamed, pleaded, and cried, but Hulk felt no pity.

This man had had no pity for the little Cap. This man had laughed at the little one's pleas, and so Hulk laughed at his. He simply stuck the man to the now topless table leg, just like he did with the other two, but he did it much slower. Hulk made sure the evil doctor suffered greatly for hurting the little Cap.

Once he was through with the punishment, and the others in the little rooms were heaps of terrified, crying messes, Hulk left the detention blocks. He had not seen the actually terrified Asgardian in the cell made for him, or he would have gone there to smash him too.

* * *

The crew sent to the detention block after the attack was over, had ended either throwing up or dry heaving. Their three main prisoners after Loki, were impaled on the operating rooms table's legs. The wounds were lethal but they had clearly not died right away. They had suffered a lot before they died of blood loss.


	12. Engine repairs and monologues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don’t own the Avengers, I’m just borrowing them. I’m using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ **Completely totally AU** , _Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author’s Note:** Thanks to everyone who has commented, reviewed, boomarked, followed, and/or favorited the story. I makes me happy to know there are people enjoying the story.
> 
> This is a rather short chapter compared to the previous ones. Normally 3000 words is a pretty good sized chapter. It was actually a much longer one (over 6,000 words), but too much was happening at once, so I decided to cut it. The next chapter should be out sooner than the others though, probably by Monday.
> 
> I also wanted to mention my characterization of the Hulk was slightly based on the Avengers Assemble cartoon. I normally don’t watch much TV (and even less cartoons since I like anime better), but I found it while browsing in Netflix (they had just the one season).
> 
> The characters (with the exception of the Hulk and the Falcon) were very similar to those of the movies, and I got hooked. Hulk is smarter there, and I liked it a lot, so I chose to make him a bit more intelligent as well. Bruce does not appear in the cartoons anymore, but that won’t happen here.
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 3,170
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  “Speaking aloud.”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_  
>  _‘Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\’_

## Engine repairs

Steve and Tony split, while the first went directly to engine three, the later went to suit up. As he made his way to the damaged area, Steve helped a few of the crew to evacuate the danger zones. Most of those men were wearing oxygen masks, as the air was clearly thinner up there, but he was thankfully not having trouble breathing.

When Steve reached the engine, he came upon a rather large part of the helicarrier missing. There was twisted metal, loose cables, and fire besides nothing but air. Most of the electronics there were either dead, or dying, and Steve shuddered at their pain, tightening his mental shields to avoid being affected by them. He really, really was beginning to hate flying.

_Steve: /Tony, I’m here._ \ He informed the older technopath squinting bit trying to see if he had already arrived.

_Tony: /Good._ \ He arrived at the damaged engine and saw Steve waiting. _/They’ll be expecting to hear us, so we need to use the coms,_ \ he instructed the kid.

_Steve: /Got it._ \

“Let’s see what we’ve got,” Tony muttered to himself as JARVIS assisted him by providing the engine schematics, and layering them on top of the visuals he was getting.

“I got to get this superconducting coolant system back on line before I can access the rotors, work on dislodging the debris…” He listed as he checked the damage on the engine knowing Steve would understand what he was talking about. “I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position.”

Steve just nodded since Iron Man was facing him, then he looked around, and saw no access to the area where he needed to be. So he just jumped across the open space to get to the control panel. He found it and took a look.

“What does it look like in there?” he asked as he worked on getting the engine back on line.

“Better than expected. The panel is not damaged, the relays are intact. They are all overloaded but it does not appear to have yet reached critical. I can take care of them manually,” Steve informed him as he located the necessary switches and began working.

Steve berated himself for not stopping to locate a tool belt, or a tool box—besides a gun and his shield—before he reached the engine, especially since he was going to do repairs. At least he only had to work with switches. Thank God for small mercies, but he made a mental note to add a multi-tool to his utility belt, one never knew when it would be necessary.

“There’s nothing else to do on the panel,” he reported. “What’s our next move.”

“Even if I clear the rotor this thing won’t re-engage without a jump. I’m going to have to get in there and push,” Tony informed Steve knowing there were others listening on the channel.

“If that thing gets up to speed, you’ll get shredded,” he was worried.

“That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that could…” He was about to engage in a long explanation, but was interrupted by the kid.

“Mechanic here, Tony,” Steve reminded the genius, “no need for long winded explanations. We can talk shop all you want later, when we’re not in the middle of a life and death situation. Right now I don’t have your visuals, so where’s the stator control unit?”

“You’re no fun, Rogers,” he did not whine and pout, no he didn’t.

“Crashing an aircraft twice in less than a month exceeds my allotted quota of air related disasters; and before you say anything about that being seventy years ago, to me it’s only been a bit over two weeks!” He did not see it, but there were collective winces by those who were listening in on the channel.

“Okay, okay, don’t get your spandex in a bunch, Capsicle.” But he cringed. This must actually be one hell of a nightmare for the kid. Yet, there he was, doing what he could to keep the flying bucket on the air. “Look overhead to your right, see that red lever?” Tony linked with Steve, and projected the equivalent of a reassuring shoulder squeeze.

_Steve: /Thanks,_ \ he said allowing the gratitude to color his mental voice. It had been a reassuring as well as comforting gesture.

“Yeah, I see it,” Steve said aloud and sighed. That was another jump over nothing but air. Better not look down, and he simply jumped.

“Stand by it, and wait for my word,” Tony instructed as he flew into the turbine.

From his vantage point besides the lever Steve saw hostiles arrive. One was about to throw a grenade at the engine, and they could not risk any more damage, specially not with Tony in there. He jumped when the man threw the grenade, and managed to knock it down.

Unfortunately that drew the hostiles' attention to him, and he did not have a gun or his shield on hand. Well he could see there was more jumping in his immediate future. Steve moved to their level, knocked one man down, then fought the other, and threw him off the helicarrier.

A third arrived, Steve retrieved one of their guns and responded fire. He tried to remain close to the control unit, but it was difficult while under attack. He had no cover, then the helicarrier lost another engine.

* * *

“Stark, we’re loosing power.” Nick informed him.

“Yeah, I noticed.” He began pushing the rotors trying to get at least that engine back on line.

Steve was under heavy fire, and he was forced to retreat until there was no more ship. He lost his footing, but managed to grab a hold on some loose cable at the last moment. He dangled several thousand feet on the air, and he tried not to think about it and pull himself back on the ship.

Tony sped as he pushed the rotor and it began gaining the necessary speed. Unfortunately Steve was still hanging by a cable, and about to fall to his death if he did not manage to pull himself back on board the helicarrier. The ship began to level.

“Cap, hit the lever.”

“I need a minute here!” He sounded strained. Frankly it was a miracle he managed to respond, as all his concentration was on getting back on the helicarrier. Even crippled it was still better than the alternative.

“Lever… now!” Tony was getting desperate. The engine was working, and getting up to speed. Things were not looking good for him.

Steve managed to get himself back on board and crawled his way to the lever. He was still under heavy fire, while Tony was trapped inside the engine, and being tossed every which way like a red and gold pin ball.

“Uh oh.” He was in serious trouble now. “Help!”

Steve managed to get the lever, and Iron Man was able to fly out of the engine. There was still one remaining attacker, and Steve had nothing to repel fire with. Thankfully Tony flew by and crashed against the man knocking him out, if not outright killing him. Both of them just remained where they were trying to regain their breaths.

_Tony: /Let’s not do that again… Like… Ever,_ \ he projected to Steve. He was going to feel that tumble in the engine by the end of the day, and the Mark VI was practically out of commission.

_Steve: /You won’t hear me disagree,_ \ he said starting to come down from the adrenaline rush. He knew he had just added at least a couple more nightmares to the nightly horrors playlist.

“Agent Coulson is down.” Fury’s grave voice came through the coms. It sounded ominous.

“A medical team is on it’s way to your location,” a technician informed him.

“They’re here. They called it, ” Fury informed them, and there was radio silence. Coulson was a well loved as well as respected agent, and his death clearly hit everyone hard.

* * *

## Fury’s monologue

The atmosphere on the helicarrier was somber. The recent disastrous attack, the heavy damage to the ship, the escape of their prisoner, but specially the loss of Coulson was heavily felt by everyone.

Of the team, Bruce as the Hulk was gone somewhere. They were aware he was not dead, the giant green rage monster was practically indestructible, but who knew what kind of havoc the Hulk was wrecking out there. He had certainly caused enough on the helicarrier’s hangar, the lab, and surprisingly some of the detention cells.

Thor was also missing in action. Loki had released the cell designed for the Hulk with his brother in it. They were not sure if the Asgardian was resistant enough to survive the fall unharmed. They also had no way of knowing if Thor needed assistance.

At least they had managed to recover Barton, and from Romanoff’s reports he was off the staff’s control. They just needed to wait and see if he made a full recovery from the ordeal. Although they might not be able to give him the necessary time if Loki opened the portal anytime soon. They were going to need every able bodied man and woman.

After he had removed the top of his uniform Steve went to the bridge uncertain as to what they were going to do next. The helicarrier was crippled, they lost many men, and had more injured. They lost aircraft and weapons too. The cargo hold where Phase Two was stored sustained heavy damage and most of its contents did as well.

Steve did not know if SHIELD had more forces they could rally when the invasion started. Because that at least was a certainty, not if, but when. He hoped that if they did not have enough, the Army, Air Force, and the National Guard would be called, because they were going to need all the help they could get.

Tony joined him at the bridge’s meeting table. He was a far cry from his energetic self, and Steve did not blame him. It appeared he appreciated Coulson more than he let on, and the loss of Bruce to the Hulk was probably hitting him hard as well.

The older technopath was also shielding his mind as tightly as possible, but then so was he. The laments and death throes from all the damaged electronics were wreaking havoc with his mind and feelings. He was sure it was the same for Tony.

Steve tried to help in the background as much as he could, assisting the mainframe in deriving its processes to some of the terminals which still were in good condition and not in use. A few of the main servers were damaged, and it was not yet feasible to use the backups to restore the system.

In the chaos he managed to access the file dump his code obtained before he went to Stuttgart, and uploaded it to his cloud account, then erased it from the terminal. Steve also made sure to clear any sign of his having ever used the terminal, and the Internet connection. The later was probably the only communication with the outside which was still working.

As he worked, Steve could ‘feel’ Tony in the background. The older technopath was taking care of reestablishing, and rerouting some of the systems necessary to keep the helicarrier on the air. Steve was impressed with how Tony slowly worked on removing the virus which took down engine one, specially since he was making it look like it was the mainframe’s own security systems the ones behind it. But they both had to work carefully to avoid any suspicion.

Fury joined them at the table, but he did not take a seat. He was clearly feeling the loss of Coulson as well. He was somberly looking at something in his hands, holding whatever it was rather gently.

“This were in Phil Coulson’s jacket, I guess he never did get you to sign them,” Nick told Rogers, then threw the trading cards on the table before him.

He was laying the guilt on thick, but Nick needed the remaining members of the Avengers Initiative to work together. The Cap was the best chance they had at rallying the others into doing that. The younger man just stared at the cards as they had some blood smeared on them, Coulson’s. With a sigh the Cap grabbed one.

“We’re dead on the air up here. Our communications, the location of the Cube, Banner, Thor… I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming. Yes, we were going to build and arsenal with the Tesseract,” Nick admitted, and the look he got from Rogers told him the younger man had already known that. “I never put all my chips on that number, though because I was playing something even riskier.

“There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative.” As he talked, Nick moved around the table, but kept his distance from Rogers. The least he needed was to trigger a panic attack. “The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more.

“To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could.” Stark turned to look at him, but just for an instant. “Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes.”

It seemed Tony had enough of Fury’s monologue because he stood up abruptly, then after a few seconds just staring through the front windows, he left the bridge without saying a word. But Steve could sense he kept his connection with the servers.

“Well, it’s an old-fashioned notion,” Nick finished. It was now up to Rogers and Stark to do something about the imminent invasion.

Steve just stared at the blood stained cards, uncertain as to what to feel. The deaths of several agents were already making him feel bad, and more than slightly useless. Yes, he did not like SHIELD, but he had never cared about senseless death.

He felt there should have been something he could have done to prevent what happened. But for the life of him Steve did not know what. Tony and him had sounded the alarm, but by then it had been to late to stop the attack. After contemplating the blood stained cards for a couple more minutes, he left in search of Tony.

* * *

## The cell chamber

He found the billionaire in the Hulk’s cell’s chamber, unmoving, and just staring into space. Steve wanted to offer some comfort, but he was not sure what to say, or what to do. He had never been all that good at giving comfort. So he just leaned against the railing for a moment.

“Was he married?” he finally asked, if Coulson was, it would add even more to the tragedy.

“No. There was a… cellist I think,” Tony said remembering the conversation he and Agent had before they discovered Steve was a genius… It seemed like it was ages ago even when it was less than twenty-four hours.

“I’m sorry.” There was no much else he could say. He had just met the man the previous day. “He seemed like a good man.”

Tony scoffed. “He was an idiot.”

“Why? For believing?” Steve frowned.

“For taking on Loki alone.” Agent should not have died. There had not been any reason for him to die.

“He was doing his job,” Steve defended the man’s decisions. He would have done the same in Coulson’s place.

“He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have…” Tony just trailed off.

“Sometimes there isn’t a way out, Tony.” He spoke from his own experience. If there had been any other way he would have saved Bucky, and doctor Erskine. Steve would not have crashed that plane and lost seventy years.

“Right, I’ve heard that before.” He was angry, all the more because he knew the kid was speaking from personal experience.

“Is this the first time you lost a soldier?” he asked.

Steve had lost many, as he had led more than the Howling Commandos. It was an unavoidable fact of war, even if he did his best to minimize the loss of life. Of those he lost, only Bucky had been really close to him.

Losing men under his command did not get any easier, but one did learn to cope, otherwise he would have been unable to function. It was something someone his age should never have to deal with, but it was part of the price Steve had to pay for becoming who he was now.

“We are not soldiers, Steve,” Tony snapped.

He was angry, and he was hurt. He felt like taking it out on someone, but Steve did not deserve that. He was a **_child_** having to act not only like an adult, but a leader, and an example to booth.

“I’m not marching to Fury’s fife,” Tony stated. He really did not trust the pirate, he was sure cyclops was trying to manipulate them with his… attempt at a heart to heart in the bridge.

“I’m not asking you to. Because you know, neither am I, Tony. I think I’ve made that clear already. He’s got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we got to put that behind us and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source. If we put together a list… we can narrow it down since we know they were headed for New York.”

“He made it personal,” Tony said looking at the blood stain on the wall. It was Coulson’s.

“That’s not the point.” They needed a clear head, and going out for revenge was not going to help anyone.

“That is the point,” Tony stressed, “that’s Loki’s point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?”

“To tear us apart.” Steve began getting where Tony was going.

“Yeah, divide and conquer is great, he already tried it and almost succeeded, because he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That’s what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience.” How had he not seen it before?

“Right,” Steve agreed, “I caught his act in Stuttgart.” That discourse on people needing to be dominated was a dead giveaway.

“Yeah, that was just previews. This is opening night, and Loki, he’s a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered…” he trailed off, and knew then just were Loki was going to open the portal. “Son of a bitch.”

“He’s going for the arc reactor in your tower, isn’t he?” Dread settled in his stomach.


	13. Calling Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ **Completely totally AU** , _Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author's Note:** Sorry about the delay guys. The chapter was ready when I posted chapter 12, but RL has a way of taking your full attention, and I actually forgot I had not posted it.
> 
> I have all the way to chapter 17 done, which it's massive (nearly 11,000 words, and still going), so I'm probably going to divide it. I also have several notes for the following chapters, and I really need some time to re-watch Iron Man 3 a few times because I need to find a way to link the Avengers with it, and get Steve in there. Still not sure about linking to the Winter Soldier, but the muses seem to be warming up to the idea. 
> 
> I'm not sure if I'll keep posting on Thursdays/Fridays, or will post on Wednesdays.
> 
> Anyway, here it is.
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 3,407
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## Calling home

New York City was going to be the epicenter of an alien invasion. Steve needed to get his mother out of the city and to safety. He also needed to actually speak with her, just... just in case something did happen to him this time. But... there were no phones he could use without SHIELD tracing the call, only Stark's.

Steve decided then, he would have to trust the older technopath. From the previous connections he had shared with Tony, he felt he could trust him. Then there was the fact Stark did not trust SHIELD, so Steve was certain the older technopath was not going to reveal his secret to them.

Even in the off chance Tony did inform SHIELD, making sure his mother—the only family he still had left—would be safe was more important to him than hiding his time travelling. He was simply not willing to put her at risk, and lose her again. Being in New York City when Loki was about to unleash an army from outer space, was too dangerous. She could get hurt, or worse, killed.

"Tony, wait," he called the man before he left the cell room. "I... I need a favor before you go. I have to make a phone call on a line SHIELD can't tap. There's... there's someone I need to warn."

Tony looked at the kid, and could see in his eyes both the fear, and the concern. He knew who he was going to call, so Tony might as well tell Steve he and Bruce knew not only about his time travelling secret, but his real age as well. Tony took out his phone and dialed Mrs Rogers number.

"Here," he said handing him the phone. Shocked baby blue eyes stared at him.

_Tony: /It's already dialing, kid. Bruce and I know where that gem took you._ \ He told him, and saw the youngster freeze and actually stop breathing. He chose to use the mental link to keep SHIELD in the dark about Steve's Time Travel and only family. _/Breathe Steve,_ \ he instructed the kid. _/I had JARVIS do a search, and we found you. It was not really hard to do._ \

_Steve: /How? How did you find out?_ \

_Tony: /It was Bruce who actually figured it out, so yeah, we know. We both agree not to tell anyone else, because no one else needs to know,_ \ he said trying to reassure Steve his secret was safe with them. _/Right now is not the time, or place, for this conversation, so we'll talk about it once this is over._ \

Steve did take a couple of deep breaths, and just nodded. There was not much he could say since his mother answered the call. "Hello?" His eyes became suspiciously moist at hearing her voice. How he had missed her.

"Ma?" he said softly, voice full of emotion.

"Steve! Oh dear God! You... you sound so much like your father now." The sound in the few movies he made for the USO did not do justice to his voice, it sounded so very different. "When are you coming home, son?"

"Not yet, but hopefully soon. Listen, Ma, I have little time but it's important." His tone was rather urgent. "Pack some clothes and any necessary documents, then take the next train out of the city. It doesn't matter where, just as far away from New York as you can."

"Why?" Sarah asked alarmed. "Are you in danger? Can't you come with me? I've just got you back after thinking you died, baby boy!"

"Not a baby, Ma!" he protested like any self respecting teenager would—although he really did not mind her calling him that, Steve had actually missed her endearments, even the embarrassing ones, more than he would ever admit aloud—but then went on seriously. "You know who I am now. I... I have a duty. I'm a soldier, and have been for nearly two years. I just can't go back to who, and what, I was before."

"But you're still a child!" she protested, although she knew her son would go through with what he had already decided. He had always been very stubborn. "You're just a kid, Steve. Let an adult handle whatever it is and please come home!"

Sometimes it was not a good thing to have a very determined and stubborn son. True, those traits were how he achieved as much as he had despite the handicap his ill health had been, but they were also the reason why he always got himself in trouble.

"I'm Captain America now, Ma, not a child, not anymore. Not after the war," he said the last softly. "Right now I should be twelve, but I'm sixteen, looking like I'm twenty-three, and chronologically I'm a senior citizen." He looked at the older technopath with trepidation as he realized he had not made sure SHIELD would not spy on them.

_Tony: /Don't worry kid, I'm scrambling all signals coming out of this room, except from the phone._ \

_Steve: /Thanks, I should have blocked them before I started speaking with her._ \ That had been a mistake he could not afford to make, thankfully Tony took care of it.

"It's... a mess, Ma. Specially because there's no way things can ever go back to the way they were before I left. Then there's the fact war changes you, it did me, and I had to grow up in a hurry." Steve sighed wishing he could give in to her request, but knowing his conscience would not let him. He had a duty to do his best to stop Loki and the invasion.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, Steve, you'll always be my baby genius. Please come home," she entreated not wanting him in danger.

"I wish I could, Ma. I really do, but I can't. Look there's something really bad coming, I'm hoping my team can stop it, but we're not sure if we'll be able. Whatever the case, it would ease my mind to know you're safe, please. I"—his voice broke a little, and he had to take a deep breath to go on—"I lost you once, when I... when I left. I don't want to lose you twice, please leave the city, Ma."

"Okay," Sarah sniffled giving in. "I'll try to leave the city as you ask. But you know I'm a nurse, as well as a paramedic, and my first shift starts in an hour." She took her duty just as seriously as she knew Steve took his. It was something she had done her best to instill in her son since he was little. "If I can find someone to cover my shift I'll leave, Steve, but if I can't then I'm staying. Either way, I promise to do my best to be safe, but you have to promise me you will do the same."

Steve sighed, she was right, her duty was important to her, and he was not going to convince her to leave it. "I can agree to that," he said sounding resigned. Steve would rather know she was safely away from New York City, but was aware he was not getting more than her promise to be safe. "I gotta go, Ma, be safe. Love you." He had not said that enough to her after he turned nine, and it was something he had regretted once he found himself in the past without her.

"Love you too my, genius boy. Please be safe for my sake, I... I don't think I can take losing you again, Steve." Sarah sniffled again doing her best not to openly cry, and worry him unnecessarily.

"I'll"—Steve could not keep his voice from breaking, and neither could he keep from sniffling, even when he was trying so hard not to cry—"do my best, Ma. Love you," he said again, "please be careful."

Steve ended the call, and wiped away a few stray tears from his cheeks, then he took out a handkerchief from his utility belt to blow his nose. This got him a raised eyebrow from Tony, and he just shrugged.

It had been Bucky who always made him keep a handkerchief in his pocket—while Kleenex were available back then, they were not very cheep, and they could ill afford them with their limited budget at the beginning— and after two years of nagging, the lesson stuck.

He had so wanted to speak with his mother, and during a crisis was not the best of times, but it would have to do. Then he took a few deep breaths to get his emotions under control. He needed all his focus on the battle ahead.

"Thanks, Tony"—he walked towards the older technopath and handed him the phone back—"I really needed to speak with her," Steve admitted, "and with SHIELD keeping such close tabs on me it was too risky."

"No problem, kid," Tony wave it off. If Pepper and Rhodey—who were really his only family, even if it was not by blood—had been in New York City, he would have warned them to leave as well. "Will your Mom be safe? I can have someone pick her up and take her out of the city if you want," he offered.

"Thank you for the offer, Tony, but it's okay," he said gratefully. Had she agreed to leave with no conditions Steve would have accepted the offer without thinking it twice. "My mother is a nurse and a paramedic. She's going to try to find someone to cover her shift so she can leave, but if she can't, she promised to do her best to keep safe.

"So... her promise to try to keep safe is the best I'm going to get. Her duty's very important to her, and it's something she taught me. If we don't manage to stop Loki before he opens the portal, there's going to be... collateral damage, and civilians will be hurt."

Steve cringed at the thought of the possible death toll, as well as the number of injured bystanders. Tony did as well, they both knew it was not realistic to believe they could avoid casualties. The best they could do was hope to save as many as possible.

"Don't remind me, I rather not start worrying about that just yet," he told the kid. They needed to focus on stopping Loki, and keeping Selvig from opening a portal to bring those Chitauri to Earth.

"Sorry," Steve said with a shrug, "I always factor the civilian population when devising a strategy, Tony. I really can't help it."

"I'm not criticizing, Steve. In fact, it's good that you do. Too bad we can't have SHIELD ask the Major to order an evacuation, between the ones who panic, the sceptics refusing to leave, and those in the middle who actually listen, it's going to be too chaotic to be of any use."

"Too true," he agreed.

* * *

## Gathering the team

Knowing Loki planned to use the arc reactor in Stark Tower, Steve left to gather what remained of the would-be Avengers, while Tony took care of patching his suit so it could fly him back to the tower.

Steve was not happy he was going there without backup, but he could see there was no other choice; and Tony would try to keep Doctor Selvig from opening the portal, or stall Loki until the rest of the team arrived. At least Steve got Tony to promise to keep a live connection going while he flew to the tower, just so Steve knew what was going on.

He found Romanoff with Barton in the infirmary. There was a guard posted outside the room, but Steve did not expect to be detained should Barton be well enough to join them for the fight. He would be needed.

"Time to go," he said without preamble once the door to Barton's secure room opened.

"Go where?" Natasha asked a bit surprised to see the Captain there.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" He rather not involve any of SHIELD's regular pilots. His trust in the agency was practically non existent at this point. Although he had to grudgingly accept a shaky alliance until the crisis was over.

"I can," Clint said coming from the bathroom while drying his hands.

After what happened, he needed a way to prove himself, to show what he did was because of the alien bastard, and not because he truly wanted to. The Captain gave him an appraising look, which surprisingly held no hostility. It was not what Clint expected after leading the attack on the helicarrier, still, he did his best to stand tall, and awaited the other man's decision.

Steve looked at the assassin, taking in his condition, as well as his stance, and his eyes. Barton clearly needed to prove he was not Loki's minion anymore, and was in fact one of the good guys again. Then he looked at Romanoff—who knew her partner best—for confirmation, although he was already thinking of accepting Hawkeye as a member of their team. She gave him a tiny nod, he took it as confirmation the other assassin was ready for action and could be trusted.

"You got a suit?" Steve enquired.

"Yeah," Clint confirmed with a nod feeling relieved. The question let him know he would be allowed to join them.

"Then suit up," Steve instructed.

His mind was already working on cataloguing Barton's skills from what had been in his file. He needed to know the strengths and weaknesses of his team members to better plan their strategy, and utilize those skills to their advantage.

Once suited the trio left for the armory, where they picked their weapons and went in search of a quinjet they could commandeer to make their way to New York. As they went, Steve talked to the tech of several quinjets until they found one in good flying condition. Of course neither Romanoff, nor Barton knew that was the reason why he chose they one they did.

"Hey guys, you aren't authorized in here," the mechanic still servicing the jet told them when they boarded.

"Son," Steve said in his best Captain America's authoritative tone, "just don't."

* * *

## Damage report

Nick stood on the bridge deep in thought—absently playing with Coulson's Captain America trading cards—while all around him the staff was trying to keep the crippled helicarrier in the air long enough to reach the coast and lower the ship on the water.

They would have better chances of doing repairs once they were out of the air. Engine one was still down, but according to the technicians' reports, the mainframe's security was already working on searching and destroying the virus Barton had deployed. Once that was done they could try to get the engine back on line.

"Sir?" Maria called her boss, and waited for him to acknowledge her. There were a few things she needed to say, most were official business, though not all.

"Agent Hill," Nick acknowledge his second in command. He was expecting a report on the damage done to the cargo holds, as well as the detention block, but it was probably still too soon for them to have anything but a preliminary assessment.

"Those cards," she began slowly, deciding to start with them. They were Coulson's most treasured possession, besides Lola—his specially modified car. "They were in Coulson's locker, not his jacket."

Nick took a good look at the cards, he did know what they meant to Coulson, but desperate times required desperate measures. "They needed the push," he admitted softly. He saw no other choice.

"We have an unauthorized departure from Bay six," a technician reported through the speakers on the bridge.

Nick was looking outside, and he was able to see Stark fly away, but he knew Iron Man had the freedom to come an go as he pleased. It had been one of the things he had granted Stark, so it was not his departure which the technician reported. Following close behind was a quinjet, and he did not need to ask to know who was on board.

"They found him," and there was no need to say who. He was actually surprised they had found either Loki, or the Tesseract, so soon after the attack. "Get our communications back up, whatever you have to do. I want eyes on everything." He moved away from the large windows.

"They are already on Sir," Maria reported, and saw Fury stop dead on his tracks.

"They are?" He could not believe that.

It was shortly before he spoke with Stark and Rogers when the communication's officer reported the systems had been too damaged by Barton's virus. The man had not known when they would have them back up, but he estimated several hours at the very least, and only after the virus had been either contained or removed.

"Yes Sir, our communications and I.T. staff are rather baffled they were able to do this so fast. I was coming to inform you."

"I see, is there anything else you need to report Agent Hill?" He turned to face her, and was surprised by the look on her face. Maria Hill was an unflappable woman, yet she looked a mixture between sadistically satisfied, and sick.

"Yes Sir, the damage Hulk wrecked to the detention block was not what we expected. There were also three casualties in the detention block, all of them prisoners."

"Do tell Agent." By the look on her face he was beginning to think it was not, as he initially thought, done to the area closer to where Loki was contained. He had not found evidence of the Hulk when he went to check on the cell where they kept the Asgardian, and found a dying Coulson instead.

"The Hulk went specifically after Kraft, Wilkins, and Frampton," she paused seeing Fury's eye open wide in surprise. "He did not outright kill them, but he made sure they were in terrible pain before they died."

"So Stark hacked the mainframe again, and not only found out what those three did to the Cap, he actually had the stupid idea to share it with Banner?" Nick asked aghast.

The fact Stark once again snooped around where he was not wanted angered him. Although it might actually explain why the annoying billionaire was so confident an argument was not going to set off Banner. Because the doctor had to have known about it before the attack, and the Hulk only came out after.

It bear to question, did the Cap know not only those two, but a few others, were aware of what those motherfuckers did to him? Nick hoped the younger man did not, because if he did, it might affect his ability to lead. Truth be told he had never seen Coulson and Romanoff so angry... enraged was probably a better word to describe them.

"I believe he did Sir. Agent Romanoff also reported the Hulk... Well he speaks Sir, he told her he would not hurt her if she was not in his way. He had been heading in the general direction of the detention block at the time."

"Hmm..." Now that was very interesting information. It appeared the green motherfucker was not as mindless as they believed. "Anything else?"

"The Hulk made sure all of the prisoners heard the other three scream. Told them, and I quote _Tell all, Hulk protects Cap, touch Cap Hulk not smash. Smash too good, not suffer enough. Hulk do to you what Hulk do to bad men_." Fury's eye almost bugged out of its socket.

Maria knew speaking like the Hulk might have sounded silly, but it was really the only way to convey the threat he issued. It had been a shockingly long sentence, from a monster they thought was only guided by his uncontrolled rage.

"What did he do?" Nick could not help but ask.

"Well, the crew sent to check on the detention block are quite traumatized Sir," Maria reported, and taking a deep breath to fortify herself she began her report. She had seen the result of the Hulk's actions as soon as the security feed from the operating room had been reestablished. It was not pretty.


	14. Facing Loki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ **_Completely totally AU_** , _Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author's Note:** I'm back to longer chapters. This was a very short one in the original draft I had of the story, but I was not happy with it. So much of this chapter I wrote since I started posting the story.
> 
> **kawherp:** _For Sarah it's been only three months since she last saw Steve. He was a frail little thing, and a Mama's boy as well back then. I tried to leave hints about it without actually saying in past chapters, I'm not sure how successful I was at that._
> 
> _Sarah needs to make a really big adjusment in how she treats and even thinks about Steve. She knows her son is Captain America in her mind, but her heart doesn't undertand it yet. She was a fan, so she's aware of what he did, and a lot of what he's capable of, but she's also his mother and she wants him safe since she lost him once already._
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 6,053
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## Facing Loki

They took off before anyone could stop them, just a few moments after Iron Man. As promised Tony allowed Steve to keep a connection open; he got to see and experience first hand how Tony actually operated the suit. It was all through mental commands.

The Iron Man suit was an extension of Tony's mind. No one but a very powerful technopath would have been able to fly it. It really was awe inspiring, and it served to keep Steve's mind from the fact he was back on a plane. The suit was on its last legs, but still Tony managed to get it back to New York and his tower.

"Sir, I've turned off the arc reactor," JARVIS informed him as he approached the tower. "But the device is already self-sustaining."

"Shut it down, Doctor Selvig," Tony demanded.

"It's too late! She can't stop now. She wants to show us something! A new universe."

"Okay." Since the 'possessed' doctor was not going to shut it down, Tony fired the repulsors at the device containing the Tesseract; without much success.

"The barrier is pure energy. It's unbreachable," JARVIS informed him.

He had also tried to connect with the machine, but the barrier protected it from him. Tony tried again, this time Steve had caught on to what he was doing and joined in the assault, with no luck. He mentally swore, and it was echoed by Steve. The bounce against the barrier had been rather painful.

"Yeah, I got that," Tony snarked to JARVIS.

_Steve: /Any ideas on how to get through that?_ \ He was getting visuals as well, thanks to the suit's cameras. _/Because even a concentrated attack by both of us is not getting past the barrier._ \

_Tony: /None yet,_ \ he admitted, _/but I agree, brute mind force—even if I call upon the two other technopaths in New York City, plus the few others with long enough range and power to actually do more than chat—is not going to cut it._ \ He was tempted, and would probably leave it as a last resort. Because trying was better than not. _/We're only starting, though. Loki's here,_ \ he told the younger technopath. _/I'll stall for as long as I can, so get your asses here ASAP._ \

_Steve: /We're going as fast as possible,_ \ he told him after consulting with the quinjet's instruments. He really could not ask either of the two assassins without sounding like a little kid on a car trip. _/Be careful, Tony._ \

"Plan B," he muttered to himself, "stall Loki."

"Sir, the Mark VII is not ready for deployment," JARVIS warned him.

"Then skip the spinning rims. We're on the clock." There was no way he would be anything but a menace to himself if he tried to use the Mark VI. It was barely able to keep itself on the air, and its responses were becoming sluggish.

He landed rather abruptly, and Tony had to admit it was not one of his best. The spinning rims began removing the suit as he walked towards the pent house. Loki was there, just outside. As he made his way inside the pent house, Tony kept his eyes on the Asgardian. Loki too made his way inside.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki said as he leisurely entered the penthouse. Like he owned it, and it irked Tony the man dared deface his home, well one of them anyway.

_Steve: /He's not human, so why bother?_ \ he quipped.

_Tony: /Steve!_ \ he protested because he almost snorted at the comment.

"Actually, I'm planning to threaten you," Tony said as he made his way to the bar.

"You should have left your armor for that," Loki pointed out sounding too conceited for Tony's tastes.

"Yeah. It's seen a bit of mileage, and you've got the glow stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?" He actually felt the kid's _Really? A drink?_ Much like he would have when mentoring another technopath. Tony would have to think about it later, as Steve was already past the mentee stage.

_Tony: /Quiet, you! I'm improvising here!_ \ He projected what was the mental equivalent of a friendly cuff to the kid's head.

_Steve: /Sorry about that._ \ His tone was rather sheepish. _/Just be careful Tony, Loki's unpredictable._ \ He tightened his mental shield to keep himself from distracting Tony. Loki was not mentally stable, and that made him all the more dangerous.

"Stalling won't change anything," Loki told the Iron Man showing he was not fooled by his actions.

"No, no. _Threatening_ ," Tony stressed. "No drink, you sure?" he insisted. "I'm having one." Tony went behind the bar and chose his best brandy. He actually did need a drink. The past day had been very stressful, eventful, and full of shocks.

"The Chitauri are coming," he stated confidently. They were already assembled and ready for action as soon as the portal opened. "Nothing will change that. What have I to fear?"

Loki walked towards the floor to ceiling windows confidently, and took in the impressive view of the city. It was nothing like Asgard, but he could admit it possessed an appeal of its own. Perhaps he would make it his capital, with the metal man's tower as a monument and reminder of his triumph.

"The Avengers," Tony responded. "That's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' type of thing."

"Yes. I've met them," Loki said with a sardonic smile. Those  
buffoons had been too easy to manipulate. He did not consider them a threat to his plans.

"Yeah. Takes us a while to get any traction. I'll give you that one," Tony admitted. "But let's do a head count, here. Your brother, the demigod." Oh! Loki didn't like that. Man talk about some major sibling rivalry! He picked one of the Mark VII's tracking bracelets and put it on discretely. "A super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend."

Tony felt the kid's surprise and pride at the compliment, and he sent Steve the equivalent of a mental path on the shoulder. Tony put on the second tracking bracelet, making sure to keep Loki distracted so he did not notice what he was doing.

"A man with breathtaking anger-management issues," he went on. "A couple of master assassins, and you big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." He did not include himself, since it was a foregone conclusion.

"That was the plan," Loki told the midgardian arrogantly.

"Not a great plan," he pointed out.

Tony did not see the sense in getting them all pissed at a common enemy instead of at each other... Or perhaps Loki did not know his plan to make them fight with each other had been foiled. He mentally smirked, then passed this little tidbit of information to Steve. The kid was sure to find a way to take advantage of it.

"When they come"—Tony began walking away from the bar, looking more confident than he felt at the moment, even when he was certain his team mates would be there soon enough—"and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army." Loki smiled certain he had the winning hand. The Chitauri were fierce as well as experienced warriors, and had conquered other Realms for their Master.

"We have a Hulk," Tony countered. The big guy counted practically as an army on his own. Never mind the fact he was virtually indestructible.

"I thought the beast had wandered off," he said dismissively, and secretly more than a bit relieved.

Loki had heard, and later seen the green monster's handy work, gruesome was a rather mild term to describe what those midgardians looked like once the beast was through with them. Whatever those wretched midgardians did to enrage the monster, it must have been bad. Loki would never admit it, but he had actually feared for his life for a moment.

"You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top," Tony stressed. "Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it," and that was a promise.

"How will your friends have time for me, when they are so busy fighting you?" Loki touched Iron Man's chest, but nothing happened. He tried a second time, with the same lack of results. "This usually works," Loki mused confused.

"Well, performance issues, is not uncommon." The arc reactor in his chest was clearly non conductive of whatever energy was used for mind control. "One out of five..." he began.

Loki clearly did not react well to his allusion to the Asgardian's ability to rise to the occasion, or his lack of success at controlling him. Loki was clearly offended and enraged. He was grabbed by the throat and thrown away like he weighted nothing.

"JARVIS, anytime now," Tony muttered as he stood up. But Loki grabbed him by the throat again.

"You will all fall before me," he snarled.

"Deploy!" Loki raised him off the floor, and the guy was using only one hand. That was... not good.

Fuck, he was going to be strangled! He grabbed the hand holding him trying to escape its hold. Things got worse though, Loki threw him out of the window, and he had no suit. He was going to splatter on the side walk. Then the Mark VII left after him, led by the tracking bracelets.

Tony was lucky, or maybe it was because the tower was really a very high building. But the suit actually caught up with him, and molded itself around him. Just in time to avoid splattering onto some passersby. He flew back up rather pissed. No one expelled him from his own home, no one.

"And there's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil," Tony said once he was level with the penthouse.

Then Tony blasted the Asgardian as he had been itching to do. Unfortunately, he was too late to stop Selvig from opening the portal, and Chitauri began falling from the sky in droves.

_Tony: /Where the hell are you? The portal is open, and the Chitauri are coming through in droves._ \ He was panicking slightly, and knew Steve felt it. He was surprised to feel a wave of calm wash over him and felt Steve's confidence in him to stall their enemies. It helped.

_Steve: /We're going as fast as we can. I have visuals of the city, and I can see the beam of light going up from the tower. Hang in there, Tony, we should be joining the fight soon._ \

Steve tried to send as much reassurance and confidence in the older technopath's abilities as he could, knowing Tony would sorely need them since he was on his own until they got there.

"Right, army," he muttered to himself. It did not look good for them.

_Tony: /I'll do what I can, Steve, but they are too many, and come on some type of flying chariots._ \

He began unloading his arsenal on the incoming Chitauri, but he did not think he was making much of a dent in their numbers. It was not that he had not hit some of them, because he had killed several. The problem was there were simply too many of them.

"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast," Natasha informed him through the com. She could see the beam of light coming from atop the tower, and the portal above.

"What, did you stop for drive-thru?" He snarked, then instructed, seeing as he had several of the flying chariots in hot pursuit. "Swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you."

* * *

## The Battle

Agent Romanoff had very good aim, and they managed to take out a good number of the Chitauri tailing Iron Man. Then Barton continued on his way towards the tower, where Loki was. Meanwhile Romanoff kept shooting Chitauri vehicles out of the sky. They were not too many yet, but Steve was concerned they would be too much for just the three of them.

They reached the tower, where they discovered Thor made it back from wherever he had fallen in Hulk's cell. The blond Asgardian was battling his brother, while agent Barton positioned the quinjet to try and take Loki down.

The dark haired Asgardian managed to avoid being hit, but they were not so lucky, and a blue ray from the scepter hit one of their turbines. It burst into flames, and Barton fought with the aircraft to keep it on the air, as well as away from any buildings and civilians.

As they lost altitude, Steve could do nothing more than hang on for dear life. With an impressive show of skill, Hawkeye managed to crash land the ship away from any people. As soon as they stopped moving, the three of them descended from the quinjet and Steve tried to assess their situation.

They were about three, or perhaps four, blocks away from Stark tower, which was the epicenter for the invasion. From where they might have a better chance to stop the Chitauri. They had to try to close the portal.

"We got to get back up there," Steve told both Barton and Romanoff as he moved towards the tower.

They were coming to the intersection where Romanoff shot the first Chitauri off Iron Man's back when a very strange groaning kind of sound reverberated on the streets. The three of them stood there watching the portal as a large whale-dinosaur type of... being came out of the portal.

The thing was huge, had some kind of armor and very, very large teeth. It also floated in the air much like a real whale would do in the water. It flew slowly, almost leisurely, over them, and from it came down Chitauri foot warriors. He could barely believe he was seeing a live troop carrier.

Steve's disbelief meter simply short-circuited, it had been too much, and that was saying something taking into consideration he was a time traveller. He really would not be shocked by anything else that happened.

The only thing he had left was just to plough through, and try his best to fall back into his war time mindset. He had a mission, and he needed to do whatever it took to complete it successfully and with the minimum of civilian casualties.

"Tony, are you seeing this?" He asked the billionaire through the com. His mind was in more than a bit of a mess to even attempt a connection with the other technopath.

Tony could feel the very shocked kid's mind in the back of his own, even though neither of them were consciously holding a connection. It was very much like they had a mentoring link, which should not be possible because he did not think Steve needed one anymore. Never mind the fact he had not initiated one.

That boy knew very well how to shield his mind, and link with tech. Hell he was good enough to hack SHIELD's mainframes without being discovered, and with only crappy tech. Tony had to admit not all technopaths could have done it. In fact, there really were very few of them who could

As Tony shot out after the... Thing, he responded, "seeing, Steve, still working on believing," he said unable to hide his own shock. "Where's Bruce? Has he shown up yet?"

"Bruce?" Steve was not sure if he was going to show up, who knew where the Hulk had ended at after he fell off the jet which distracted him from destroying the lab.

"Just keep me posted," he instructed and went after the... Flying dinosaur whale thingy.

_Steve: /You really think Bruce will show up? Because frankly, we're really going to need the Hulk._ \ He told the older technopath as he assessed their situation after the Chitauri foot soldiers started attacking civilians.

_Tony: /I know he will, he might even be able to point the Hulk this way. Hopefully Big Green will choose to smash Chitauri, since they are rather more of them than us. Now, I have a whale thingy to fish._ \

"JARVIS, find me a soft spot," he told the AI as he flew keeping the ugly looking thing within sight.

Steve, Black Widow, and Hawkeye kept making their way towards the tower. There were abandoned cars, and people were beginning to seek refuge where they could. They came upon some abandoned taxis, and they used them as cover while choosing their next move.

"We've got civilians trapped up here," Clint informed the Cap as he took in the public transport bus filled with people. They were atop the bridge at Park, where the real fighting had started in the air.

Several Chitauri vehicles flew past at breakneck speed, but Steve was able to see the dark haired Asgardian atop of one. "Loki," he muttered. The Chitauri were creating havoc for those on the street passing below the bridge. "They're fish in a barrel down there, he told his team mates.

At that moment they came under attack by a group of Chitauri foot warriors. Black Widow retaliated immediately, and Hawkeye searched for a good position to shoot his arrows.

"We got this. It's good. Go," Natasha told the soldier. She knew he would do his best to get the civilians on the street below out of harms way. Clint and her had been through worse odds, so she knew they could take care of things.

"Do you think you can hold them off?" Steve asked not wanting to leave his team members at a disadvantage, although he did know they were quite capable of fighting against negative odds.

"Captain," Clint said prepping his arrows. "It would be my genuine pleasure." Like Natasha, he had red in his ledger, and he needed for his own sake to wipe it off.

Besides, he did have a few issues to solve, what best than to take his anger off on Loki's allies? He got an arrow with an electric point from his quiver, got it ready on the bow, and in one swift movement Clint broke cover to shoot at the middle Chitauri in the team of five approaching them. Perfect head shot, and the electrified arrow took the others flanking his target as well. Natasha at the ready, covered his back.

Steve took advantage of the distraction his two teammates created to jump off the bridge to the street below, and make his way down the street. Chitauri air warriors shot at him from their vehicles. What he had learned of Parkour became quite handy as he ran jumping over obstacles, and avoided the blue rays being shot at him.

Up ahead he noticed a group of police officers were making a stand, and trying to take down as many aliens as they could. Not that they were doing much good with the type of guns they were using, and at the speed those things flew. Steve jumped atop a patrol car, and almost got shot by the eldest of two officers. He wasted no time in issuing orders, already having the beginnings of a plan formed.

"You need men in these buildings," he instructed signalling each of the buildings he was talking about. "There are people inside, and they're going to be running into the line of fire. You take them to the basements, or through the subway. You keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th."

"Why the hell should I take orders from you?" the older officer demanded.

Steve was not used to people disobeying his commands, not since he rescued the 107th. The Chitauri reached them, and began shooting at everything causing as much destruction as possible. A large piece of metal, probably part of a car almost hit him, but he raised the shield and it simply bounced off it.

A Chitauri foot warrior landed besides him, and Steve reacted using the shield to block the attack, then hit the alien off the car. A second warrior tried to shoot him at close range with one of those odd weapons they carried. Once again the shield held, and he fought the warrior off.

The first one recovered, and Steve took care of it, then the second tried to shoot him again, but he grabbed a hold of the gun and used his shield to cut off the arm holding it. Then he sent it flying against a vehicle a few feet away, using a bit more force than strictly necessary.

It seemed all that was needed for the officer to obey his instructions was a little show of force, as well as skill. Steve was not happy, but at least the people in those buildings would be evacuated. The police officer walked towards his people and got them moving.

Mission accomplished, Steve went back to his team. Just in time as well because more Chitauri were coming, and they had surrounded Black Widow and Hawkeye. The later was about to be shot at close range, but Steve crashed down shield first onto the attackers, and knocked them out. Then he just kept using his shield as a weapon, hitting any Chitauri which came within range.

Chitauri were cornering them, leaving no safe escape route for Barton and Romanoff, as Steve could have jumped off the bridge with no trouble if it had been only him. There was the wrecked bus he had used earlier... Perhaps he could go down first and catch the others.

Before Steve could truly form a plan of escape to avoid the new wave of foot warriors, lightning fell from the sky, taking care of their attacker. The team was coming together, concentrating in one place. Only Bruce and Tony were missing.

Thor landed hard, and Steve immediately approached him for a report, as the last time he had seen the Asgardian he had been at the tower fighting Loki. "What's the story upstairs?"

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable," he informed the young Captain somberly. It was not good news.

"Thor's right," Tony agreed through the com. "We got to deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked having heard Stark, and turning towards the young man whom Fury had named their leader; even after suspecting he was not yet an adult.

"As a team," Steve told her. It was the only way, Loki had known he would have little trouble if he divided them.

Loki had tried to create enmity between all of them, but he did not know his plan had been foiled. Instead of separating them, he actually made them a team, with Loki himself as their common enemy.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor told them. He loved his brother, but he had gone too far and had to be stopped.

"Yeah? Get in line," Clint told him as he inspected the arrows he collected from some of his enemies' bodies.

"Save it," Steve told the both of them. It was not the time to fight each other. "Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us," he informed them, "and that's what we need." As Tony had said to him back in the helicarrier, the Asgardian made it personal. "Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top. He's going to need us to..." he began explaining his plan when the sound of a beat up motorcycle approaching them distracted him.

Steve turned to look at whoever was crazy enough to be out on the street to find Tony had been right, and Bruce had found them. They all approached him, the others more surprised by his appearance than he was.

"So, this all seems horrible," Bruce told them seeing the destruction those aliens had already caused, and he knew it was just starting.

"I've seen worse," Natasha told him.

"Sorry," Bruce apologized, although he was glad the Other Guy had chosen to listen to him for once. It seemed having a common enemy made him more willing to listen.

"No, we could use a little worse," she told him.

The Hulk had surprisingly chosen not to hurt her, and she suspected Banner had had something to do with that. As both Stark and Rogers believed, it seemed the scientist did have more control than they gave him credit for. Not only that, the Hulk was actually capable of communicating at a very basic level.

"Tony, we got him," Steve informed him.

"Bruce?" Tony asked for verbal confirmation, mostly for the other's benefit, there was no need for the others to know Steve and him had ways of communicating silently.

"Just like you said," he confirmed.

"Tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." Well, that was one way of saying it, the damn thing was gaining on him.

"I... I don't see how that's a party," Natasha could not help but comment dumbfounded at Stark's audacity. That flying monster coming their way was huge, and she did not think they could get rid of it easily.

"Bruce, now might be a really good time for you to get angry," Steve suggested as the older man began walking towards the fast approaching whale-thingy.

"That's my secret Cap, I'm always angry," he said and let the Other Guy take control.

He simply pointed him in the right direction, and from their experience with Kraft, Bruce knew the Other Guy would listen this time as well. Since he willingly let him out, the transformation took practically no time. Hulk was free, just in time to knock the ugly thing out.

The whale like thing was many more times larger than Hulk, but one powerful punch was enough to stop it. The thing almost fell on the rest of the team, its armor falling apart all around them. Tony shot a mini missile at it, stopping its forward momentum, and giving them all time to cover themselves.

Steve pulled Black Widow under his shield, while Hawkeye sought cover behind a yellow cab, and Thor simply covered his face. The Chitauri really, really hated the fact that ugly thing was killed. They yelled in protest, while Hulk roared back at them.

The team was complete, all six of them ready to defend their planet. Stark landed as well, all forming a circle watching each others' backs as they kept their eyes on the enraged Chitauri.

Natasha raised her eyes to the portal, and saw more of the ugly flying things coming through. "Guys," she called their attention to the things, and they all looked up.

"Call it Captain," Tony said deferring to the kid. He had the experience as a leader, and it was one of the many things Steve clearly excelled at. The kid turned to look at him surprised.

_Steve: /You'll follow my lead even when you know my age?_ \ This was so unexpected.

_Tony: /It'll be an honor Steve, sixteen or not, you are more than capable. Fury chose you to lead because you have proven to be a good leader. Don't doubt yourself now kid._ \

"Hulk only listen to little Cap," Hulk told the young one when he saw the doubt in his eyes. "Hulk likes little Cap. Hulk smashed bad men who scared and hurt Cap."

The Hulk approached him, and patted his head in a surprisingly gentle and very careful gesture. Steve could only stare at the green rage monster in shock. Was he understanding right, and not only did Hulk knew what those men did to him, but had actually killed them? For him? And did the others know?

Did they know what Kraft and his minions did? For a moment he felt unable to breathe, like the asthma was back. How could he face them? How could they trust him to lead them? Turning to look at his team Steve could see understanding in their eyes, and to his utter shock, some sadistic satisfaction. They knew, perhaps not all of it, but enough, and they approved of the Hulk's actions. Despite what happened, they were still willing to follow his lead.

"Hulk made example of bad men," he sounded quite satisfied with this. Bad men would know now not to mess with Cap because Hulk would be angry. "Others not hurt little Cap, or Hulk do to them what Hulk did to bad men. Hulk avenge Cap." He looked completely serious with the threat he had issued.

"You killed them Hulk?" It was not the place to ask, and yet he could not help it because he needed to know. Steve needed to know those bastards would not be around anymore.

"Hulk not kill, Hulk made sure they die soon," he grinned rather evilly. Those bad men got what they deserved, and even Bruce agreed. Hulk made sure those men would not hurt him again, and would not let others hurt him so ever again.

Steve was shocked, Hulk made sure Kraft, Wilkins and Frampton would never hurt him. He... Well from his words he suspected the green giant made sure they had a slow, and probably very painful death; and he did it to protect him? To avenge him?

He was not sure what to think. On one hand Steve really was not fond of the idea of killing for revenge... With a few exceptions. Those three, along with Arnim Zola, and practically all of HYDRA. So... Okay, maybe he was not as against killing in revenge as he thought he was. Besides, coming from the Hulk, his actions were more like a sign of affection.

"Thank you Hulk for making sure they won't be around," Steve settled for saying after he took several deep breaths.

It was not the time to dwell on personal problems, they had an invasion to stop. He did allow gratitude at Hulk's unexpected desire to protect him to color his voice and show in his face. The big giant patted his head again, rather affectionately, then said.

"Little Cap tell Hulk what to do, Hulk listens."

Steve looked at the others, who stared at him with varying degrees of shock. Without even trying he had managed to do what no one had been able to. The Hulk was willing to listen to his orders, not only that, he would follow them. Steve took another deep breath to center himself, and called the plan.

"All right, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof"—and he pointed to the highest building near them—"eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

"Can you give me a lift?" Clint asked Stark.

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas," Tony said picking Barton up from his harness and taking off towards the building Steve pointed out.

"Thor, you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning. Light the bastards up"—he turned to Romanoff— "you and me, we stay here on the ground. We keep the fighting here. And Hulk... Smash." The green giant grinned rather gleefully and went off clearly loving the order, and quite pleased to be doing some more smashing.

* * *

From then on it was a blur of activity, as battles tended to be. Fighting Chitauri after Chitauri, and making sure the civilians were as protected as possible. He was injured several times, but nothing he could not handle.

They were doing the best they could, but at times it seemed it would not be enough. Thankfully the National Guard did arrive, and they began taking care of the civilians, giving them the time to focus on getting rid of the Chitauri.

Steve could not help but wonder where the other members of the Armed Forces were. They were sorely needed. Some Black Hawks would not be amiss to keep the perimeter contained, and F-16s would be helpful to bottle neck the portal.

At some point he gave Natasha a push so she could board one of the flying chariots. It was a surprisingly daring, and dangerous move, but she got on board, and even got the Chitauri flying it to head more or less where she wanted. Natasha somehow managed to get to the tower and find a way to close the portal.

"I can close it," Natasha informed them as she managed to pierce through the energy barrier using Loki's scepter. "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

"Do it!" Steve made the call.

"No, wait," Tony told them.

He had just received a call from Fury telling him the stupid members of the World Security Council had decided to nuke New York City, not caring about the eight million or so civilians in the area. Because a nuke would not just devastate Manhattan, but Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Harlem, and just about the whole city.

It would be a worse tragedy than Hiroshima and Nagazaki together, as between them there had been less than 500,000 casualties. Not that it had not been a terrible tragedy, because it was. But New York City had eight million people living in the area, not counting the tourists and those on business trips. The death toll would be catastrophic, never mind the economic repercussions of destroying the country's financial capital.

"Tony, these things are still coming," Steve protested.

They really needed to close the portal because, frankly, there were way too many Chitauri for just the six of them. He could not help but keep wondering where the hell were the Army, and the Air Force? Surely aliens attacking New York City would merit their presence but so far there were no signs of them anywhere.

"I've got a nuke coming. It's gonna blow in less than a minute"—he accelerated as JARVIS traced the best route to intercept it—"and I know just where to put it."

"Tony, you know that's a one way trip," Steve warned him. It was laying himself on the wire for the protection of others.

_Steve: /There must be another way._ \

_Tony: /Sorry kid, as you told me not long ago, 'sometimes there is no other way'. Give hell to SHIELD for me, and keep an eye on Bruce._ \ Tony blocked the connection with the kid, there was no need for Steve to feel him die.

Dying while connected to another technopath was enough to leave the living one so shocked they ended catatonic at best, in a coma at worst. It recently happened to Francois, their most powerful router. He was in a coma because his very young mentee was run over by a car, and she did not make it. He did not want Steve to end like that.

"Save the rest for the turn, J."

"Sir, shall I try Miss Potts?" JARVIS suggested.

"Might as well." He was going to say goodbye, not that he really wanted to, but the call went unanswered. Then he was through the portal and staring into space.

He flew as far as he could go, hoping the nuke would keep on its trajectory as it should, then let go of it. Tony was able to see it reach the Chitauri mothership and hit it, the explosions were spectacular, and the last things he would see. A very fitting end, he so loved blowing up things. Then he was falling, the lack of air getting to him, and everything went dark.

They waited to see if Tony made it out of the portal, but when he did not Steve had to make the call. He did not want to do it, he had come to like Tony. The older technopath was becoming a friend, perhaps even a mentor. Unfortunately there was no other option.

"Close it," Steve instructed Natasha sadly. Just like with Bucky, he was once again leaving a man behind.


	15. Son of a gun wants shawarma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I don’t own the Avengers, I’m just borrowing them. I’m using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU, **Completely totally AU** , Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author’s Note:**
> 
> _Sorry about the cliffhanger, even if it was not truly one, but it was still the perfect time to end the chapter. We all know what happened in the movie, but I admit the scene still gets to me whenever I see it (and to write all past chapter I saw it several times)._
> 
>  
> 
> _Another long chapter guys, but I’m probably not going to be updating quite as often once I run out of pre-written chapters, I’m up to chapter 18, which is not yet finished, and it already is over 6,000 words._
> 
>  
> 
> * * *
> 
> I’m a bit of a mix between a binge writer and a perfectionist. So I usually get these bouts of writing where I can churn up over 6,000 words in a sitting (usually when insomnia takes hold, Tony and I have soo much in common with this).
> 
> Then spend at least a couple of weeks making sense of what I wrote (at times it’s more shorthand than a tweet), and fleshing out the story (with any luck at least a couple of chapters come out of these binges).
> 
> I still have many ideas for scenes, so I think the story is going to keep going for long, just not a chapter once a week as I had been doing.
> 
> * * *
> 
> _On other notes, the second part of the chapter might look rather out of character, and probably is, but this is one of the scenes I wrote in the original draft of the story (fleshed out and revised for at least six months), so I decided to keep it and hope you like what I did with it._
> 
> _This chapter is also the official end of the Avenger’s movie. I should be entering Iron Man 3 territory in chapter 19, or 20. I wanted to end the story here, and perhaps go for a sequel… But I decided not to. ___
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 6,833
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  “Speaking aloud.”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_  
>  _‘Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\’_  
>   
> 

## Son of a gun

The moment the nuke hit the mothership all the Chitauri, including the large flying whale things died. It was like an off switch, a self destruct mechanism, or they might have actually been part of a hive type mentality. Steve would not put it past them. So the moment they lost contact with their mothership, they died.

Whatever the reason, it was over. The portal was shrinking, and Steve’s mind idly supplied the fact he had been right in his calculations about the size. It had not been an overly big portal. Then he saw it, Stark made it out before it closed completely.

“Son of a gun!” Steve exclaimed surprised and glad.

He tried to contact him through the com, but got nothing, then mentally, but it seemed Tony was unconscious. Steve tried contacting the suit, but there was silence. He then tried JARVIS, and the AI answered, but he was responding from the tower. He too was unable to contact the suit. JARVIS was very concerned for his creator. The power of the suit was down, and Steve began fearing Tony had not made it.

“He’s not slowing down,” Thor said concerned and began twirling that hammer of his ready to take off and catch Iron Man.

To their surprise it was the Hulk who got to Tony. He appeared out of nowhere, before Thor could take off, caught him, and broke the fall. They had too much momentum, and it was hard even for the Hulk to stop. They ended crash landing, with the green giant taking the brunt of the fall.

They went to him, and Thor removed the face plate, but Tony was not breathing. The Arc Reactor of the suit was dark, and when Steve placed a hand on it to try to re-start it, the reactor only gave the barest of responses. Steve pushed his will into it to force it to restart. Then Hulk roared, and Tony took a breath. The Arc Reactor finally coming back on line.

“What the hell?” Tony gasped. “What just happened?” He looked at Thor, then at Steve. “Please tell me nobody kissed me!”

Steve smiled at the older tecnopath’s babble, relieved he was alive and well enough to speak. “We won,” he told Tony once his mind began to catch up with what happened. He was exhausted and injured, but alive, and the six of them won, as unbelievable as it sounded.

Tony looked relieved, and closed his eyes for a moment. “All right, yay! Hurray. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day.” He was babbling, but who cared? They were alive, and they won! “Have you ever had shawarma?” Steve just smiled at him. “There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I want to try it.”

“We’re not finished yet,” Thor reminded them sounding a bit somber. Loki was at the tower. They had to make sure he was secured.

“And then shawarma after,” Tony insisted.

Tony was exhausted as well as famished, he could not remember when was the last time he ate something decent. Much as he tried to deny it, Tony knew he was not that young, and neither was he in excellent physical shape. So there was very little doubt he would be unable to get out of bed tomorrow.

“Yes, shawarma after,” Steve agreed. “I’m feeling hungry, how about you Thor? Hulk, will you allow Bruce back?” He was not sure there would be a place where they had enough food for the green giant, or where they wanted to serve him.

“I would not mind feasting with my brothers and sister in arms after this victorious battle,” Thor responded with a small smile. It was a good way to celebrate their triumph.

“After Puny God is away,” Hulk told Steve. “No more risk to Bruce and little Cap.”

“All right, I can agree to that, and thanks for your help Big Guy. You did great,” Steve said patting the green rage monster on the arm affectionately. He was probably the only one in the world who could get away with it.

 

They walked to the tower helping to rescue civilians as they went. Hawkeye found them on their way, the team was nearly complete. Only Natasha was missing in their tired group, but she was already at the tower.

They were at Stark tower in little time, and found Loki was barely getting himself out of a hole on the floor in his shape. It was obviously Hulk made, if the smug grin on the green giant was any indication.

Loki asked for the drink Tony had offered him when everything began, but no one was inclined to give him one. So Thor took care of placing some special handcuffs he brought from Asgard, as well as some sort of muzzle on Loki. They would supposedly keep him from using magic.

Steve idly wondered where the hell Thor had stored those because there did not seem to be any pockets in his body armor. Not long later some agents from SHIELD New York made it to the tower, and they took Loki off their hands. Thor reassured them his brother would not be able to escape. So Tony removed his suit, and loaned some clothes to Bruce once the Hulk let him out.

He was injured—and beginning to feel it, now the adrenaline rush was over—but Steve was sure he could deal with his wounds later, once he was alone. Kraft might be gone, but he still did not trust SHIELD’s people.

The uniform Coulson ‘helped’ designed had not been easy to put on, and it did not seem to be going to be easy to get all of it off. Steve was probably going to have to cut the thing to remove it, and he was not willing to let anyone holding a sharp instrument close to him.

* * *

## Shawarma

The shawarma joint suffered damage from the battle, but they were more than willing to serve the ones who protected New York City from the aliens when Tony asked. They tiredly collapsed on the chairs around the only table in good condition, and listened to the proprietor’s suggestions. Shawarma had a lot of protein, and was served on bread, much like a sandwich, or on a wrap.

Despite how exhausted he was, Steve was surprised to notice his pre-ice appetite was back. He was starving. The food was surprisingly okay, and just what his body was demanding after such a battle. He really needed to recover the calories he burned since he had nearly no fat stores.

Steve began like a normal person would, by ordering one of the sandwich like meals plus a large order of french fries. Then he ordered a second, and a third, to the astonished looks from Barton and Romanoff. Bruce looked mildly interested, but was matching his intake of food much to his surprise. Thor was clearly an eating machine, he was already on a fourth with no signs of slowing down.

Tony was the only one besides Thor who did not seem surprised at the amount of food he could eat. Steve suspected Howard might have mentioned to his son Captain America could probably eat a whole cow after a fight, if it was served cooked, and normally he tended to eat enough to feed four soldiers.

He ended demolishing five and a half of the sandwich looking things, plus an equal number of fries orders, three large Cokes (for the sugar and caffeine), and lost count of the water bottles at around six.

After that much food and liquids, Steve had had to discretely loosen up his utility belt a couple of notches, and open up the top button of his pants. Even his metabolism was not fast enough to process such a large amount of food in that short amount of time.

By the last order the exhaustion not only of the past two weeks but the battle as well, began catching up with him, and not even the large Cokes were helping. Despite what he had appeared to be, he was not in top condition. He could not be with as little sleep as he got, the lack of appetite, and the amount of stress he had been subjected to.

Steve had not allowed himself to truly rest, because when he did he either remembered the past, those he lost, or what Kraft—and his minions—had done to him. The two hours he slept in the lab had not been enough to replenish all the lost energy. So Steve placed one of his elbows on the table, and rested his head on his hand.

He had no intention of sleeping, but his body had other plans, and he ended falling into a very deep slumber while the rest of his team mates were still eating. He had simply pushed himself too far. His body needed to rest, and he was getting it one way or another. Steve was so deeply asleep that nothing short of an explosion would be able to wake him up, an even that was debatable.

He was now aware Kraft, Wilkins, and Frampton were dead, so he could relax because he was safe from them thanks to the Hulk. Steve also knew his team would have his back, at least Tony and Bruce would, but he thought he had done well with both Thor and Clint. Natasha he was not able to read despite how exhausted she looked, but then he suspected Barton was the only one who could.

“I thought his file said the Cap could remain awake for a week of constant fighting,” Clint broke the silence keeping his voice low.

The Captain looked exhausted, and so much younger than the twenty-six years old he was. Perhaps that was why the Hulk called him little Cap. The soldier was actually the youngest of them all, if one took in account the years actually lived, even Natasha was a year older(1).

Clint was also curious as to what that strange conversation between the Captain and the Hulk had been about. It was something about the Hulk killing someone, or someones, who had hurt Rogers.

The others had looked initially perplexed at the green rage monster’s words, but then it was like something downed on them, and they had looked sadistically satisfied. All of them, which he found strange. Clint knew that particular expression well, even if Natasha very rarely let it show.

For his part Rogers had looked like he was about to start hyperventilating, shocked, then just plain relieved, and so very grateful. He was very curious but decided he would ask Natasha about the conversation with the Hulk later. Clint was not sure the others would trust him with whatever it was after being controlled by Loki, and then leading an attack on the helicarrier.

“He can,” Tony confirmed speaking in a soft voice not wanting to wake the kid. He knew Steve sorely needed the rest.

Tony opened the link he clearly shared with Steve’s mind. It had been there from the moment he regained consciousness, but he had kept it closed. Tony could tell Steve was out for the count, and would not be waking anytime soon. He would know when the boy began to stir though, so he would be able to redirect the conversation if needed.

“But?” Clint asked sensing there was one, and barely hiding his surprise at the affectionate and concerned look the billionaire directed at the Captain, which was mirrored in doctor Banner’s face.

_‘What the hell?’_ He could not help but think. He had read Stark’s file, and from Nat’s assessment that expression was very out of character for Stark. _‘What the fuck did I miss being under that motherfucker’s control?’_

“SHIELD has had one clusterfuck after another in regard to him.” His tone of voice left no doubt that he was angry on the Captain’s behalf, as well as the fact he considered SHIELD to be a bunch of idiots. Yet he kept his tone low. “Steve doesn’t trust them at all.

“Not that I blame him, they have given him more than enough reasons not to. On top of all the baggage someone in his rather unique situation has to deal with, Steve hasn’t slept much since that maniac got his hands on him.”

Tony practically snarled the word maniac, and his voice was filled with utter loathing. Besides him Bruce actually growled, eyes and skin turning greenish. Tony placed a hand on the scientist’s shoulder to calm him. They did not need the Hulk coming out again, although the Other Guy had been quite careful with the kid.

The Hulk had also refrained from smashing the other Avengers, with the probable exception of Thor. From what little he had been able to see, those two had had a go at each other on the helicarrier, and continued it on and off through the battle against the Chitauri.

“I don’t know what the Big Guy did to the bastard and his fucking minions, but I sure hope they suffered,” Tony went on surprising the rest by the venom in his voice. “Probably the only regret I have about them being dead is the fact I did not get the chance to repulsor them into orbit.”

Natasha eyed the billionaire unable to hide her surprise at his protectiveness. She did know he could be protective when it came to Potts, Rhodes, and Hogan, but they had been close to him for years. Stark had met Rogers less than two days ago. Natasha believed this protectiveness was quite out of character from the man she had assessed back when Stark was dying of palladium poisoning.

Tony had changed since Romanoff worked undercover as his assistant, and he hoped those changes were for the better. So he could understand the brief surprised look the ex-Russian assassin gave him. He had still been a selfish bastard back then.

Besides, he really could not help being protective of Steve it was practically in his nature. Tony always protected what was his, and Steve would be his son once the adoption went through.

The fact no one but Bruce, Sarah, and his lawyers knew about it did not make him any less protective, and well a bit possessive as well. Deciding not to explain himself at her surprise, Tony simply raised an eyebrow daring her to say something.

“They did,” Bruce stated with certainty, and not a hint of regret. “This was the first time we have ever been in accord, and surprisingly I can remember what the Other Guy did this time.” At their puzzled looks he added. “Once he takes over, I usually don’t remember what happened.” He paused for a second to let that sink in, then he went on. “Smashing the three of them was not going to be enough to appease us.

“I wanted them to pay, and the Other Guy wanted to that, as well as to leave a message. No one messes with Steve, because he’s under our protection,” Bruce said it in a rather placid tone of voice, which only made the threat more ominous. Specially when his eyes turned slightly green, then went back to brown.

“Good God Banner! What did you both do to those animals?” Natasha could not help but exclaim a bit shocked at the sadistic look on the usually very mild mannered scientist.

She chose to treat both the Hulk and Banner as two… persons because, well… They practically were two different people from what she had been able to see. Natasha did not have to ask whether Banner suspected those men had raped the Captain, and not just… molested him to obtain the samples they wanted.

It was very clear by their words, and the still barely contained fury towards Kraft and his minions, both he and Stark knew something. But their anger and protectiveness went beyond simple suspicion, like the rest of them originally had.

Until Frampton began talking, and Wilkins decided it was a good idea to taunt Coulson about harming his childhood hero, they had had no proof Rogers had been raped by the three of them. Natasha spared a hard look at Stark.

She knew, well everyone at SHIELD did, no computer system resisted that man when he wanted to find out something, and it drove their I.T. people insane trying to find ways to stop him. Did he find evidence of what Kraft did to Rogers? Hard evidence, like… documents… Or perhaps even video? Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the billionaire.

Stark returned her stare, those eyes were hard, unforgiving, and full of loathing. Natasha knew that look was not for her, it was just a reflection of what he felt towards those three. But then he looked away, and the gaze softened when his eyes settled on the sleeping Captain. Then became concerned, and perhaps even slightly tender.

There probably was a security video of it, of what those three did to the Cap. Stark and Banner must have seen it… But if there was, and they found it, why had no one else found it before? Why hadn’t the personnel in charge of internal security come forth with what was there? The footage from all security cameras was supposed to be monitored at all times!

“Nat?” Clint could not help but ask. “What the fuck happened? Did someone at SHIELD hurt the Cap?”

Clint kept his voice low, while sparing a look at the sleeping man at the head of the table. Whatever it was that happened, Clint was sure he would not like people speaking about it if he was him.

“Doctor Albert Kraft got his hands on Captain Rogers…” she began only to be interrupted.

“That obsessive psycho who believes the rest of the human population is no better than lab rats for his use, and is quite put out because he isn’t allowed to do as he pleases?” He asked unable to completely hide a slight shudder.

Unfortunately Clint had met the guy… more than once. Coulson usually sent him to make surprise visits to the man’s labs through the vents just to be sure he had no poor souls locked in cages. He had rescued fourteen new recruits from his clutches so far.

No one had died yet, at least he hoped no one had, because if that maniac had killed people with his experiments Clint doubted they would find any bodies. Kraft was smart enough, and creative enough, to find ways to get rid of them without no one the wiser.

In fact, before he was sent to the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. installation to watch the Tesseract, he had rescued five young women, three were new recruits, but the other two had been minors Kraft, or his people, had picked off the streets. Coulson had not been happy at all.

“Yes, that’s the one. Fury forbid him to test, or experiment on the Captain, but somehow he had the two senior agents chosen to debrief him in his pocket,” she told him what Frampton had said when he was detained. He had refused to say how they ended working for Kraft, though. “Agents Wilkins and Frampton led him to one of the bunkers in the basement, and used a… paralyzing pen to incapacitate the Captain…”

“That motherfucker!” Clint snarled, and barely managed to keep his tone low, then spared a look at the young man on Natasha’s left, he still looked pretty out of it. “He used that fucking thing on the Cap too?

“I knew I should have put an arrow through that bastard’s neck before I left for the Mohave Desert installation.” He spared a look at the Captain, he was clearly still asleep, but they really should not be talking about it there. Specially not with him in the room. “Should we be speaking about this here, and with the Cap present?”

Tony took a look around, the owners of the joint were keeping their distance. They were alone, and nothing short of a bomb going off in the room would wake Steve, he was completely exhausted. The way he was breathing, slowly and deeply, were signs of a deep slumber. Just to be on the safe side, he pinged the kid, and Steve did not even stir.

“He’s completely out Barton, even Super Soldiers have limits, and Steve’s just reached his. He’s not going to wake until he’s replenished at least some of his usual energy,” Tony told him. He would sense Steve waking before he actually did, so there would be time to redirect the conversation to safer topics. “What do you know about that weapon Barton?” Tony asked not liking the implication.

“David Wilkins is a sexual predator—or well he was since the Hulk took care of him—with a predilection for handsome, and strong new recruits. He uses that weapon to subdue his victims without a fight,” Clint explained. “The bastard likes blonds in particular.

“By accident I came across one of his victims nearly two months ago. The poor guy had been left in one of the unused storage rooms, and he was not in a good shape at all. Martin Frampton is his on and off partner in crime.

“The newbies are unfortunately too scared to talk to the supervisors. Those beasts, but Wilkins in particular, have threatened them with harming their loved ones if they talked. Thankfully the newbies have been willing to talk to me.

“So I’ve been investigating on my own and building a case against them. If those two were involved in whatever Kraft did to the Cap, you don’t need to tell me more.” He knew what they had done, and could understand everyone’s anger. “So Banner what did the Hulk do to the bastards?”

“Let’s just say the Other Guy agreed with me the punishment should fit the crime…” Everyone stared at him eyes wide, he returned their looks calmly. “He found a very convenient metal table bolted to the floor, and it was no problem to remove the top. There were only three of them but he did not much mind leaving one leg free…

“As a warning for anyone who tries to hurt Steve like that again,” he said in a very calm, matter of fact tone while everyone stared at him in utter shock as their minds processed his words. “There were enough of Kraft’s co-workers and minions in the other cells to pass the warnings to any other… So called scientist at SHIELD.”

Natasha actually stared at Banner in utter disbelief. That was completely unexpected coming from him. The man was not one for aggressive behavior, despite the Hulk, but she did not blame him. She too had wanted to kill them, specially after Wilkins began taunting Coulson, and would have made them suffer even more so once she was allowed to properly ‘question’ them.

“Holy fuck Bruce!” Tony exclaimed managing not to raise his voice. Steve was still completely out, and it was for the best. He would not appreciate them discussing him. “And I thought the way Romanoff castrated Wilkins was creative!”

“Impalement,” Thor said gravely keeping his usually booming voice low. He did not want to wake the young one. “A very fitting punishment for such cowardly beings who dare defile children.”

“How is it that you two know what happened to the Cap, and what I did to the Ублюдок(2) Stark?” Natasha asked wanting to get some answers from the man.

“I too want to know how you found out about it, and who else knows,” Tony too was curious. But he also wanted to make sure it was not public knowledge. “As well as why would you think the Cap’s a child Thor?

“Everyone knows he’s twenty-six, younger than us certainly, but not a kid.” Tony did not like the fact SHIELD might already be suspecting Steve’s real age. They stared at each other, until to his surprise she gave in.

“Fury, Hill, and… Coulson,"—there was only a barely there pause at the mention of her handler and friend, not many would have noticed, but the group she was with was not as oblivious as they pretended to be—"besides Thor and myself know,” she told them. “Fury did not like the way the Cap reacted to the proximity of…"— she gestured at the men in the room—"So he invaded his personal space as a test. We got the answer.

“The Cap moved out of reach faster than anyone thought he was capable of. The Director was murderous, Coulson and I were instructed to detain the three of them for questioning,” she informed them impassively. “We got free rein to use as much force as we felt was required.

“I was to question them after we had dealt with Loki, but Hulk just got to them before I did. Your turn Stark, how did you both find out?” Natasha spared an assessing look at the young man, and found he was still deeply asleep.

“Steve looked tired, and actually had a migraine, which was probably due to lack of proper sleep. Bruce suggested he take a nap, but he did not want to rest on the helicarrier with the mad doctor still on the loose, but he truly needed it,” Tony began as he could reveal that much. “We told him we’d make sure he was not bothered if he kipped for a few minutes in the lab.

“Bruce and I were worried. Captain America was afraid, and from what my father told me, he’s not a man who scares easily.”

The look of understanding in is eyes probably gave too much of his own history as well, but he was not ashamed to admit he understood Steve better than they might have thought. Besides he was sure SHIELD at least suspected it even if there were no official records of those assaults to his person ever happening.

The kid was incredibly brave, and not one to back off from things, or situations, which scared him. But despite everything he had been through, before and after the war, Steve was still a child, and what those animals put him through was simply more than anyone could handle, much less a sixteen year old boy.

“But well, his reactions were quite revealing,” Tony told them. “He admitted fearing going to sleep while on the helicarrier, and then waking up on an operating table while the man took samples out of him without anesthetics; or locked in a room without food and water just to see how long he can hold without them.”

“When Tony asked him if he was kidding, Steve actually told him those were the milder experiments in the testing schedule Kraft actually had the gall to present to Fury for approval,” Bruce went on and the others were incensed as well.

“Needless to say, I hacked the mainframe to see what that man could have done to him. There were several documents with Kraft’s plans, as well as a security video, with sound, of the room.

“They did not know it was there, hidden in the ceiling light, and it offered a perfect view of what they did to him,” Tony growled. “So yes, we know. We know EXACTLY what those motherfuckers did to him.”

His expression became one of complete an utter loathing. If those bastards were not dead already, Tony left no doubt in their minds he would kill them himself, slowly, painfully, and with no regrets. Besides him Bruce’s eyes and skin got a green tinge again.

“I deleted the video and audio from the mainframe and any backups SHIELD had of it. But I kept a copy in case Steve needed it to press charges. Not that either of us,” and he signalled Bruce, “were planning on letting those three live long enough to go to trial.

“With Kraft gone, the video is no longer necessary, and I believe Steve will want it destroyed. Your turn again Romanoff, why does Thor believe Steve’s a kid?”

Natasha studied Stark and Banner before she chose to answer. Both men—as well as the Hulk, and was that not a shock to everyone who considered him a mindless beast governed only by his rage and need for destruction?— were clearly in protective mode and the focus of that protection was Captain Rogers.

She also noticed Stark tried to misdirect her with his question. He clearly wanted them to believe he knew nothing about Rogers' real age; but that was it. The billionaire was trying to hide the fact he actually did know Thor was not wrong.

Fury had had access to old documents to fuel his suspicions, but how the hell did those two know? Or had Stark always known because his father knew as well, and Howard Stark told him? Then he had chosen to share with Banner? It actually was not that farfetched.

They saw the security video, which from their grim, enraged, and sickened expressions, she could tell had been even worse than Wilkins taunting made it seem. If Stark had known the Cap was actually a kid then… Well she knew he was not completely the uncaring bastard he pretended to be, and it would explain his protectiveness.

“Fury found there had been some reports accusing Rogers of being a minor. All were hearsay, based on the fact everyone called him kid, including his superior officer at times. All reports were quieted down by Colonel Chester Phillips,” she told them.

“That’s not enough to suspect he’s actually a minor,” Bruce pointed out.

“No, it isn’t,” Tony agreed.

He sensed Steve was waking up when Romanoff began explaining Fury’s findings. But the kid managed to keep pretending to be asleep. He said nothing since they were on a ‘safer’ topic, and this was something Steve needed to know.

“He found Rogers' Birth Certificate, and it was not the original issued in 1918, but one re-issued in 1941.” Natasha then proceeded to explain what Fury found out, and why he concluded Rogers was actually much younger than he admitted in his enlistment form. “Hill thinks he might be eighteen, or even seventeen. But Fury believes he’s even younger, sixteen. The Director knows he doesn’t trust SHIELD, and will probably never admit it.”

_Steve: /Damn right I won’t!_ \ He projected to Tony.

“What does the pirate plan on doing about it?” He asked knowing Steve would want to hear the answer as much as he did.

“There’s not much he can do, unless it becomes public knowledge. Even if he is indeed a teenager, I agree Rogers is never going to admit it.”

 

Thor had been paying close attention to the conversation, and while he did not understand some things, he did understand enough to draw his own conclusions. The young Midgardian had earned his respect as a brother in arms, and a good leader; specially since Director Fury believed him to be much younger than he looked, a child who got involved in war and proved his worth as a warrior.

The Son of Coul had told him a bit about the young Captain’s history. Thor learned the young midgardian had made a brave sacrifice in order to save his people from certain death, and had expected his own. Yet he had not died, instead he had been in a deep sleep for many years. When he was found and awakened, it had been to discover he had lost everyone he called friend and family long ago.

The Son of Rogers should have been honored by his people for his bravery, instead he had been kept a secret, isolated, and had been tortured as well as defiled by members of the very group of people who had offered him protection.

The Captain had no one, when he was nothing but a child. He had been gravely injured, and while the body healed, the soul had not. It was still too soon. To pull through the young one would need the support of others. But Thor was not sure the new brothers and sister in arms would be willing to provide the support and care the Son of Rogers needed.

As he observed those he had shared a meal with, Thor realized the Man of Iron was clearly invested in protecting the young one, as was the man who became the green beast. The archer and Lady Natasha were wild cards, but they might be willing to provide the necessary assistance for a brother in arms.

Thor had to go back to Asgard to deliver Loki, even when he felt he should remain longer on Midgard. There was not much he could do about it, but he would at least ask Heimdall to keep an eye on the Captain, and keep him informed of his condition.

He would ask his mother for the secret path ways of the Yggdrasil leading to Midgard. Loki had travelled them before, and Thor was willing to take the risk because he wanted to be back sooner rather than later. He suspected he would be needed.

The Captain had clearly not dealt with the results of such a horrible attack to his person, and then he was thrust into battle. It was admirable the way he had pushed everything aside because he was needed, but sooner or later it would catch up on him. The young one would need people who cared, whom he could trust close, and at the moment he only had those who fought by his side.

 

“So, if he doesn’t trust SHIELD, then I suspect the Cap is not going back to Headquarters with us,” Clint said.

Not that he wanted to go back there either. Clint actually feared some agents would try to get revenge on him even if he had not been himself when he led the attack on the helicarrier.

“No, he’s going to the tower with me whether he agrees or not.” There was steely determination in Tony’s voice. Like hell he was leaving the kid alone, much less where SHIELD could get their paws on him. Kraft, and those perverts, were not their only psychos. “You’re all welcomed to stay at the tower as well.

“You in particular Legolas,” he told the archer, “tempers need to calm before you go back there.” A good number of SHIELD agents were going to be after Barton’s blood until things were explained to them, and probably even afterward. “Steve’ll be safe enough at the tower, and I think I’ve gained enough of his trust that he can allow himself to rest. His apartment is bugged, his neighbours are all SHIELD, and he knows it.”

_Steve: /Thanks for the offer Tony, and I think I’m going to take you on it. I’m dog tired, and I know I won’t be able to sleep at the apartment._ \

_Tony: /You’re welcome kid. You’ll also be able to call your Mom safely if you want to check on her. JARVIS will make sure the call is not traced, and later I might be able to have her at the tower so you two can finally have a reunion._ \

_Steve: /Thanks Tony, you don’t know how much that means to me._ \ He said trying his best not to show how moved he was by the offer. He really wanted to see his mother, to make sure nothing happened to her. _/I really want to make sure she’s fine, although with as much damage as there was, she’s probably going to be very busy._ \ While they talked, the conversation went on.

“Fuck! No wonder he hasn’t slept much, besides what’s already been said,” Clint exclaimed. “Are they really that stupid? Didn’t those idiots read the files on him? The Cap has enhanced senses, he probably heard the assholes reporting, or commenting about the job thinking he was like any other mark.

“How could they be so stupid to underestimate Captain America? Didn’t they ever heard Coulson"—and his voice broke a little knowing his handler and friend was dead—"in fanboy mode?”

“That’s not the only thing they underestimated Clint,” Natasha said. “No one knew, but he was the one who designed the weapons for phase two.” The archer’s eyes widened in shock. “He was the one studying the Tesseract powered weapons back then.”

“He’s not going to work for SHIELD as an agent if I can help it,” Tony told them, and felt Steve’s surprise. “He’s got a place in Stark Industries R&D department, or as my personal assistant, if he wants it.” Oh yeah, Steve wanted the job all right, he could feel the kid’s elation at the idea. “We’re going to test his IQ, although I suspect he’s either up par with Bruce and I, or close to it. It’s a waste of his abilities for him to just be an agent.”

“But Captain America is needed,” Natasha protested. “He’s a symbol.”

“Steve Rogers _has a brain and knows how to use it_ ,” Tony quoted the kid. “He can be Captain America in his spare time if he so chooses, but tell me you don’t agree he’d be wasting those brains of his as an agent? Besides, Steve can be rather deviously evil as well.” At this Bruce began chuckling, and Tony could not help the shit eating grin on his face.

“Quite right,” Steve mumbled. He decided it was high time to let everyone know he had been awake for a few minutes, even if he would have rather kept on sleeping.

“How long have you been awake?” Natasha asked frowning, and everyone sort of froze. Had he heard them discuss those animals? “And what do you mean?” This she directed at Stark.

“Not long, I heard Tony inviting us to stay at the tower tonight, and I accept. As to the other, whose playlist do you think the agents monitoring the lab were hearing? It wasn’t Tony’s,” Steve said with a tired grin, still not bothering to open his eyes, or remove his face from his hand.

“You hacked into SHIELD Rogers?” Natasha asked shocked.

_Tony: /Better not admit to that. Their security might seem easy for us, but it’s not. Bruce made me see that. There’s no way to justify you knowing how to break into their mainframe in two weeks._ \

“No, not yet.” He opened his eyes, and saw Romanoff look at him sharply. “But I’m working on learning,” he admitted following the older man’s advice. “Tony did the hacking, but I do claim the idea and playlist as mine. I was thinking of using it on the neighbors though.”

“What playlist?” Clint asked curious.

“Ear-worms,” Tony responded. The shit eating grin back on his face, “from catchy commercial jingles to those pesky songs you can’t get rid off. It was playing on their monitors for a few hours. I think that’s why Fury was so close to murdering me. I wonder what song was torturing him?”

Clint laughed and so did the others, well Thor was confused but the Cap promised to explain later and even let him hear a few tunes. “Dude, that was deviously evil. But they probably lowered the volume.”

“Nah,” Tony told them. “I made sure it wouldn’t work. They could not turn it off either.”

“You need to pass me a copy of that playlist. There are some guys I know who need a bit of torturing,” Clint asked Steve.

“I’m not sure the tablet survived the fire in the lab.” He liked Thelma, and would be sorry if she was damaged. For that matter Steve needed to find if the blue gem was still on the helicarrier, he rather not lose it.

_Tony: /Don’t worry about the blue gem. I went back to the lab before leaving, and have it on the Mark 6. I did not think it was a good idea to leave it where anyone from SHIELD could get their paws on it._ \

_Steve: /Thanks, in the commotion I actually forgot about it. Should we give it to Thor? Much as I would like to properly study it, I think it’s way too dangerous to keep on Earth._ \

_Tony: /We’ll show it to him later, and see what he thinks about it. He’ll probably know if it is safe to keep it with us to study the magic and the portals, or if he’s taking it back._ \

“Don’t worry, I made a copy of it. It’s in my personal server. I’ll give you a copy of it later Barton.”

“Call me Clint, and thanks Stark.”

“No need to thank me, and call me Tony then,” he offered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) In the MCU on Wikia Natasha's date of birth is November 22, 1984. I believe some comics say she was born in the 40s, or the 50s, but for this story I'm taking the MCU as the canon timeline.
> 
> 2) Ублюдок (Ublyudok) = Bastard according to Google translate.


	16. You're adopting me, Tony?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces to some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU, __Completely totally AU_ _, Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author's Note:** I have to apologize in advance, because I probably won't post for a couple of weeks. Chapters 17 and 18 are undergoing some heavy rearranging because I moved things from this chapter to 17, and from that one to 18. Frankly this chapter was over 7000 words originally.
> 
> I want to have at least chapter 18 finished (it's already one huge chapter of over 9,000 words and no good place to break it) and have at least 19 on the way before I post again. 
> 
> The first part of this chapter was also part of the original draft. I wanted some things to remain somewhat true to canon for most of the story. Still I debated whether to go this way or not for months, and even rewrote it a few times, but it was not working for me, specially if I want to go all the way to the Winter Soldier. So I decided to leave it after working on it a lot. 
> 
> Please, don't kill me.
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 4,155
> 
> **_Keys:_ **
> 
> "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_  
> 

## You're adopting me, Tony?

The tired group made their way back to the tower on foot as the streets were too damaged for vehicles to pass. They had all accepted to spend the night at the tower, and perhaps even longer depending on how things went with debriefing and SHIELD.

On the way back to the tower Tony made the necessary arrangements for their stay through JARVIS. He had enough finished guest quarters on the floor beneath the pent-house for everyone, but he wanted Steve to stay at the pent-house's guest room to keep an eye on the kid.

As an after thought Tony told JARVIS to ready the other guest room for Sarah. He was smuggling her into the tower so Steve and her could finally have their family reunion. It might be difficult to keep her hidden from the assassin twins, as he was beginning to think of Romanoff and Barton, but the kid had waited long enough to see his Mom.

As exhausted as they were, they did stop to help when necessary. Thor and Steve were more of the heavy lifters, and they took the brunt of that job if something big needed to be moved. But the assassin duo and Bruce were able to provide some basic first aid.

Then they came upon a turned up ambulance. It had been badly hit by Chitauri weapons, and probably hit by one of the flying-whale-things as well. The driver was dead, as was one paramedic. They were probably heading towards an emergency and got caught up in the crossfire. The dead paramedic had gone flying out of the ambulance.

There was a second paramedic who had also been thrown out, but the heavy vehicle partially landed on her. She was a blonde woman, and to their shock she was still alive and conscious, but would not be for long. They could see her injuries were fatal.

Bruce and Natasha had moved closer to the woman to provide whatever aid they could in making her last moments comfortable, and perhaps get the names of people she wanted notified. Clint was scavenging the ambulance's supplies to find anything that might help ease the woman's last moments. Neither of them believed help would arrive anytime soon.

Tony stayed back because he really did not take too well to gore. Thor and Steve approached to see if moving the ambulance off the paramedic would be any help. Then Steve crumbled besides the woman with a soft, strangled 'Ma', and Tony's stomach plummeted.

_'Fuck no!'_ Tony thought shocked. _'No, it can't be. This is... so fucked up and... so unbelievably cruel. Please, any Deity who's listening, please don't let that woman be his mother, please!' The kid doesn't deserve this on top of everything!'_ He silently begged, and yet he could see it was her by Steve's reaction.

"No, no, Ma. This... this can't be happening!" His voice broke and he was shaking his head in denial. "Not when I managed to make it back! You..." a strangled sob escaped his mouth, "you promised to be safe, Ma! You promised!"

"I'm sorry, Steve... I'm so... sorry. Duty... Duty called, love," she raised a hand to caress his cheek. His hand caught it midway, and he pressed it to his cheek.

Sarah had wanted so much to touch her son again, to hold him, and kiss him, and never let go. After the ambulance was attacked she thought she would never get to do it again. She was dying, and Sarah believed it would have been too much to beg God to let her see Steve just one more time, and yet, there he was, kneeling besides her.

It was not the reunion she had hoped for, and she knew he would be hurting so very much, but at least he would not be alone. Her boy was no longer the small thin child she had still been able to carry at twelve. Steve was now as big as a grown man, bigger than his father and both grandfathers had been, but even if he was more mature and independent than he was three months ago, she knew Steve was not an adult yet.

"I... I'll get help... I'll..." He began to stand, a bit of desperation and denial in his voice. He was willing to go to SHIELD, and reveal he was a time traveller, if they could help her.

"It's no use, baby boy."

"Not a baby," he protested automatically.

"I know... I do know, Steve. But... you were still my... my baby boy three months ago..."

"I have to get you some help, Ma. There must be something..." He just... He didn't know if he could just kneel there and wait for her to die, wait for his only remaining family to leave him. "There must be something I can do."

"It's no use, son, and I... I'm so sorry. I don't want... to leave you... But I... I know it's too bad to make it. At least... At least I got to know you survived, I got to see what you'd look all grown up..." So much like her, but with Joseph's voice and build. "Did... did your team win, Steve?"

"Yeah," he croaked. Steve did not want to admit it aloud, but he had seen a few cases like his mother's during the war. None had made it. It was really a miracle she was still alive. "Yeah we did. We... We won."

"I'm... proud my, genius boy, so very proud." She managed a smile, and her eyes showed the truth of her words. "I'm sure... your Da is proud as well. He'll be coming...for me soon. I'll be seeing him... again, and I'll tell... Tell him about his brilliant and brave boy."

"Don't leave me alone, Ma. Please!" A sniffle escaped, even when he was trying so hard not to cry. "I... I still need you," he admitted.

"You won't be alone, Love, I... I promise. Mr Stark... Tony," and her eyes settled on the man who had just knelt besides her boy.

She looked at the man straight in the eyes, Sarah could see he cared about her boy, he was worried for him, and he looked quite uncertain as to what to do for Steve. Yet he chose to be by her boy's side to remind Steve he was not alone. It... comforted her. Tony Stark might or might not become a father figure for her son, but he would at least be a protector and a friend.

Sarah idly noticed Steve was bigger than the brunette she would be leaving her son to. She was in no real pain, her back was broken, but she was having trouble breathing, the weight of the ambulance making it difficult to draw air in, but she knew it was that same weight which was keeping her from bleeding out in seconds. It was allowing her a more time with her boy.

"I'm here, Sarah," he placed a hand on Steve's shoulder to offer some support, and let him know he was not alone.

As soon as he realized who the woman was he had moved to Steve's side. The kid looked so much like her there was no denying they were related. Tony had knelt besides Steve ignoring the shocked and confused expressions on everyone's faces but Bruce's.

He could only imagine what was going through their minds. Hopefully Bruce would keep the questions at bay for a while. Steve was not in any condition to answer them, and frankly neither was he.

Tony knew hearing someone who was supposedly ninety-something years old call a woman in his thirties Ma made no sense. Specially not when said woman called that ninety-something her baby boy.

Thankfully his science bro was managing to stall the others' curiosity. It was not the right time. They were keeping close though, and probably giving their full attention to the conversation.

"You will keep him... safe from those... men? Like... Like we agreed?" She asked wanting to be reassured her boy would be safe, and would not be alone, even if Tony was still mostly a stranger.

"Ma?" Steve asked shocked, then turned to glare at Tony.

Did he tell her what Kraft did? After what the Hulk said, Steve knew they were aware of what that maniac did to him, but he still did not know how the hell had Tony and Bruce find out about it.

_Steve: /What did you do, Tony? Why is my mother asking you to protect me?\_ he asked, glaring at the older technopath.

Steve was also slightly offended, he could protect himself. He conveniently chose to ignore the tiny voice at the back of his mind reminding him he had been completely helpless against Kraft and minions, he had not been able to protect himself.

_Tony: /I told her Kraft incapacitated you, and had taken some samples from you without your consent. Nothing else Steve, it wasn't my place to tell her more than what you admitted to._ \ The kid glared and returned his attention to his mother.

_Steve: /You had no right to tell her anything!_ \ He could not help snapping at the older technopath. _/No right to worry her. She's already been through so much._ \

_Tony: /I was going to tell you once this was over, but time was of essence Steve, there was no time to waste. SHIELD was too busy to notice, and we had to act while they were distracted._ \

"I will," Tony promised and took her other hand in his giving it a light squeeze. It was rather unlike him, but he suspected the dying mother might feel comforted by it. "You don't need to worry about those particular men anymore.

"The Hulk likes your kid a lot, Sarah, and he has become rather protective of the little Cap as he calls him," Tony chose to inform her; as he hoped this earned them a small relieved smile. "He took exception to them hurting Steve. They are dead, and he left those men as an example of what to expect should anyone try to experiment on Steve again."

Bruce had not been very explicit as to what Hulk did to Kraft and Co., just left the details to their imagination to come up with whatever images the could conjure. As it turned out, his imagination could actually conjure some pretty gruesome scenarios, each worse than the other. They left him squicked, yet sadistically satisfied.

It had been Thor who put a name to it, and Tony had to agreed the punishment had fit the crime. It would not have occurred to him to do that, and from the look in the assassins faces it would not have occurred to them either, but it fit.

"Good... Thank... Thank Hulk for me. You will... You'll take care of him for me when I'm gone, Tony?" She insisted.

Sarah needed to know her son would not be left completely alone. He might look like an adult, have taken care of himself for four years, even matured more than she would expect, but he had also been through so much already. He had seen too much, and lost too much as well. She worried Steve might not be able to pull through if left on his own.

"I will, you need not worry, Sarah. I promise I'll ensure he will be well taken care of, and the adoption will go through," the kid turned to stare at him in shock.

_Steve: /Adoption? You're adopting me? What the hell is going on, Tony?_ \ he could not help but ask confused as he gaped at the older man.

His stomach churned as the idea his mother had given him away formed. Why would she let Tony adopt him? Did she not want him anymore because he was no longer the sickly and scrawny kid he had been?

_Tony: /It was the only way I could think of to keep you out of SHIELD's clutches._ \ He sensed the kid's unease, so he hurried to explain before he got the wrong idea. _/I was going to co-parent with her Steve, I was basically going to provide for you both, give you a safe place to live, and provide you with protection. She was not giving you up, she would have never given you up Steve._ \

_Tony: /Hell, your mother would probably have killed anyone who dared suggest it! She loves you very much,_ \ he reassured the kid. _/As I said, it was the only way I could think of to protect you from SHIELD, and frankly after what Romanoff told us, we were barely on time, since Fury already suspects you're a minor._ \ Steve just mentally sighed but said nothing, even if Tony could feel he was uncertain as to how to feel about the adoption.

"I give you my word," Tony told the woman solemnly. "SHIELD and his mad scientists aren't getting Steve, even if I have to repulsor each and everyone of them off the face of the Earth. But I would have liked for you to be there, Sarah, your kid's a handful."

"Yes, yes he is," she smiled proudly showing in her eyes just how much she loved her son. "Always been very stubborn... Lived, when doctors said... said he wouldn't. _Contrary little thing_ they told me."

"Not little anymore, Ma," Steve sniffled doing his best to keep the tears forming in his eyes from falling. His Ma did not need to see him cry, it always worried her when he did, specially because he seldom shed tears after he turned eight.

"And I mean it, Sarah," Tony reassured the dying mother. "I'll keep your boy safe. You can rest confident I will do my best, you can also count on the Hulk and doctor Banner."

"Made... a Will, your lawyer... suggested it, but I need a... a phone. I want.. I want to leave a message for... for the court. The judge will... Want to speak with... Steve, your lawyer said so...

"I need to... make sure they know... That even if he looks... older, he's the same boy who... disappeared a few months back." It was getting so hard to keep talking, but she could not leave, not until she did as much as she could to provide a home and a safe place for Steve.

"Please don't talk, Ma. Save your energy," Steve begged.

"It's... important to me, Love." Sarah looked at him earnestly, wanting him to understand how much it meant to her to know he would be with people he could relate to, and who would take care of him, even if Steve probably believed he did not need anyone taking care of him anymore.

"I have a few ideas to explain why he looks like he does when he's supposed to be twelve," Tony said softly and he heard some gasps coming from both, Romanoff and Barton. Then there was whispering between them and Bruce.

Tony spared a quick apologetic look in the scientist's direction for leaving him to... explain to those two and Thor. At least they were not demanding answers from the kid or him yet, but he knew at least Romanoff would demand them soon. Steve only spared him another glare, but this one was half-hearted at most.

"I wanted to discuss them with you, Steve, and Bruce but I don't think there's time for it anymore," Tony told her regretfully.

Before she recorded her message—on Tony's Stark-phone, even when Romanoff had had hers shockingly hidden somehow in her utility belt, and it was unharmed—Tony and Bruce hastily constructed the story.

The story was based on Tony's half formed ideas to explain why the twelve year old Steve looked like he was in his early twenties, behaved like he was either in his mid teens, or like he was a young adult, and had the training of a special forces soldier, or a Marine. The explanation for the later two came from Romanoff actually because they could not find a way to explain it.

Steve had said very little while they constructed what would be his story, except to clarify a point, and barely paid any attention to what lies they concocted about his life. Lies to explain his time travle without actually mentioning it, and which he would have to tell the authorities, as well as anyone who asked about it.

He chose to simply kneel at his mother's side, holding her hand, or caressing her matted hair with glove-less hands. Steve wanted to cry, and to rage at the injustice of losing his only family just when he finally got her back, but he kept quiet.

Once they had the story they wanted to tell hashed out, which took little time since they did not know how long she had to live, Sarah recorded the message on Tony's phone.

In it she confirmed her desire for her child, Steven Grant Rogers, to be adopted by Anthony Edward Stark as stated in her Will, as well as identify the adult looking young man as her son—the boy who had disappeared from their home in February.

The adoption process was already on the way, both parties were in agreement, and she was not changing her decision. Then Sarah began to explain what she found out had 'happened' to her son since she reported him missing at the beginning of February. The reason he was 'taken' from their home.

* * *

_Steve had been kidnapped by Kraft and experimented on because the man wanted to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. Steve not only looked very similar to Captain America, he also had a similar list of illnesses._

_Kraft speculated he might be a descendant. A possible great grand son from a bastard child, because Joseph Rogers grandmother had actually been a USO girl who went on tour with Captain America. She never told who the father of her eldest son was._

Steve denied ever sleeping with any of the USO girls, specially not Mandy Reynolds—whom he now knew was his great grandmother—and it had not been for lack of trying on their part. But Steve had had his eyes set on Peggy Carter even then, and he had eyes for no one else. So no, Steve was not his own descendant. Although... There might be one or two in Europe. He had been careful, but... accidents happened, not that he admitted it aloud.

_Kraft's experiment had been successful. It changed Steve, healing and aging his body, as well as giving him 'similar' abilities to those of Captain America. Through some mind manipulation and memory implantation, they had subjected him to intensive training._

This last had been added by Natasha when they had stumbled over how to explain his fighting and tactical abilities. The ex-Russian spy only said the Red Room had had ways to do that.

They had been able to not only implant false memories, but to condition the body to have the necessary muscle memory to back up whatever was implanted, but did not elaborate. By the haunted look in her eyes, which only lasted an instant, they suspected she had been a victim of that particular method at some point in her past.

Only Barton was not surprised by her words, so she had clearly confided in him at some point. Although he did look a bit puzzled by the fact she actually offered the information, even when she did not know what was going on.

_Steve had been rescued by Clint after he raided Kraft's lab, since the man had kidnapped others to use in his experiments before. He checked his labs practically on a bi-weekly basis, but Kraft had managed to hide Steve for a few months._ Not a complete lie since Clint did infiltrate Kraft's lab rather often.

_Those responsible for the kidnapping and experimenting on a child had been arrested, and had been awaiting to be charged. Unfortunately they would not be facing justice because they were killed as a result of the attack._ There was no need to make public it was the Hulk who took care of them.

_Steve had been left in limbo because while he was twelve according to his birth date, he was not anymore. He was physically in his early twenties—somewhere between twenty to twenty-three years old—and emotionally at least in his mid teens._

_No one at SHIELD, where Clint took him after he was 'rescued', had been aware of how old he actually was. They only knew Steve was highly trained in combat, tactics, and firearms._

_So after he assisted them when their base was attacked, Steve was asked to help them stop the invasion, and had not only participated in the_ Battle. _He had actually ended being the one to lead the Avengers._

_Sarah informed whoever watched the video, Steve was a genius who graduated from MIT at eleven with two Masters. That alone accounted for him not being an ordinary child. Tony Stark was a genius himself, a super hero, and a member of the Avengers. Stark understood what Steve was going through better than anyone else because of past experiences._

_Sarah insisted Tony Stark could provide the necessary support Steve needed based on those experiences alone. He was also able to provide her son with a home, a support system, and the opportunity to further his education should Steve wish to pursue it._

* * *

The recording took a bit, and through it all Steve held his mother's hand; kneeling stoically besides her, watching as she struggled to leave her message to ensure his safety. It was a moving plea despite the convoluted explanations at times.

Afterward the two of them had prayed, Steve's voice the loudest even when he spoke softly. Sarah had barely any strength left. The effort of leaving her message robbed her of the last of her energy, and she died only a few minutes after finishing it.

Steve just knelt besides her stoically, and did not release her hand. He said nothing, looked at no one, and made no effort to move with the exception of his quick, sharp, breaths, as he tried to avoid crying. He needed to keep himself under control, or he would end breaking down right then and there.

When Tony or the others tried to speak with him Steve did not respond to them. He only stared. For long minutes he was simply there, unmoving, like a marble statue. After being still for some time, Steve kissed his mother's forehead tenderly, softly telling her he loved her, and how much he would miss her.

Steve arranged her hands on her chest, like she was praying, and tried to make her blood stained hair presentable by combing it with the comb he carried in his utility belt. Bucky had always insisted he carried one, and the lesson had stuck.

He then said several prayers for her soul to rest in peace. Steve knew them, as there had been times when the hospital chaplain had prayed with his mother for him. Times when the doctors did not give her hope he would live, and yet... Steve always had. Because of his ill health, he always believed he would be the first to go, not his mother, and yet... He was the one saying goodbye.

Steve, on his own, moved the vehicle off her, he got the gurney from the ambulance, and since it was only scratched he placed his mother gently on it, making sure she was secured. Steve then covered her body with the blanket Bruce had placed besides them earlier. When he was done, he placed his shield on top of her.

Then he abruptly took off at a run, only to stop before the leviathan which had fallen close by. With one anguished cry full of anger, pain, and despair Steve proceeded to destroy the carcass, hitting, kicking, and tearing at it with his bare hands.

Their hearts broke for him—even if none would truly show it—at seeing Steve take care of his mother and saying goodbye. His pain and desolation were clearly visible, even if he had yet to shed a tear. With aching hearts they all watched Steve destroy the huge beast with singular abandon, none making any effort to stop him.

Each and every one of them was familiar with loss, grief, and anger at the unfairness of life. They knew Steve needed to vent, he simply had too much on his plate, and it needed a way out. Turning the alien beast into mince meat was probably the safest way to let him do that, but it still unnerved them because Steve was eerily silent after that first anguished cry.


	17. What's going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don’t own the Avengers, I’m just borrowing them. I’m using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces to some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU, **Completely totally AU** , Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author’s Note:** I'm sorry for making you all sad. I cried when I initially wrote it, as well as on a good number of the revisions I did for it.  
>  I sorted the chapters faster than I thought, so I'm posting earlier, but it's a bit shorter than my usual. The next chapter is of average size for me, but chapter 19 is massive, still growing, and I have not found a way to cut it.
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 3,435
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  “Speaking aloud.”  
>  _‘Thoughts’_  
>  _‘Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\’_

## What’s going on?

“Explain, now,” Natasha demanded making it clear they would not get away with silence. She had assisted them with the story without questions because she saw it was important to the dying woman. But now she wanted explanations.

“Only if this goes no further,” Tony said firmly and looking at each of them straight in the eye. He was not putting Steve at risk.

“The Other Guy will be VERY displeased if this comes to the ears of ANYONE at SHIELD,” Bruce said in a very mild tone, which only made the implied threat even more dire.

Threatening people was so unlike himself, specially after the Other Guy came to be. Because it had only been after his appearance that he began working on the issues he had been carrying since his childhood. It was when he began meditating. But keeping Steve safe was more important than feeling uncomfortable by being more passive aggressive than he had been in… Well so many years.

“It’s really shocking to me, but HE truly likes the little Cap. In fact, Steve’s the only person the Other Guy has been willing to listen to,” he pointed out.

“Do we have your word this will remain amongst us?” Tony looked at each of them in the eyes again trying to make a point.

Thor was now very intrigued. How could the woman who just crossed the way to Valhalla be the young Captain’s mother? Yet she was, the grief the youngest one was feeling was too raw and powerful to be anything but true.

“I Thor Odinson, heir prince to the throne of Asgard, give you my word, Man of Iron. I will not inform the SHIELD whatever you confide to me today.” His tone was formal.

In Asgard one did not give their word lightly. It carried much weight, specially when he added his title. It seemed the Man of Iron understood what he had offered because he straightened before replying.

It shocked Tony to hear the formality in Thor’s tone, and while he was not one to observe protocol, he did know some monarchs and/or heirs to the throne did not give their words lightly. Their word actually meant something, and he supposed it was specially so in Asgard.

“I, Anthony Edward Stark, accept your word Thor, heir prince to the throne of Asgard,” he said with equal formality. He could see the others staring at him, Romanoff with a frown. Thankfully none chose to comment

“And you?” Bruce asked the spies.

“You have mine as well, Bruce, Tony,” Clint said after thinking about it.

He was too curious and wanted to know what the fuck was going on; and could actually see why neither of the geniuses would want SHIELD to know. After they fucked up so badly time and again in regard to the Cap, even he was reluctant to leave him in SHIELD’s hands, and he had worked for them for ten years.

Besides, Clint owed him one. The Cap included him on the team trusting Natasha’s assessment of him. No questions asked, no time doing psych evaluations, just a nod from her, and he was trusted to be part of his team. It was more than SHIELD did.

“Romanoff?” Tony asked, seeing as she was hesitant. “Look,” he said with a sigh, “this is not about me keeping things from SHIELD to fuck up with the pirate, although I won’t deny it’s a nice bonus for me"—he turned to look at Steve, who was still going strong against the ugly whale thingy; the kid was truly worrying him—"This is about him,” and he nodded towards the young man. “This is about us,” he signalled Bruce and himself, “keeping Steve safe when he isn’t able to do it himself.

“Believe it or not, Romanoff, I’m not a selfish narcissistic bastard all the time. SHIELD nearly destroyed him,” Tony said in a tone which showed just how angry he was on Steve’s behalf, but also how protective he was of the young Captain. “Steve’s still around only because he’s made of sterner stuff than anyone believes.

“But SHIELD just keeps fucking things up, and everyone has a limit. It’s not right, what they’ve done to him, not right at all. Steve doesn’t deserve it after what he’s done for the world.” He said no more as he turned to look at the kid.

Tony’s eyes assessed the youngster, making sure he was not hurting himself… too much. Otherwise he would have to ask Thor to intervene, because he knew the rest of them, with the exception of the Hulk and the Asgardian, were not a match for Steve.

“We’re asking you to help us protect Steve,” Bruce went on when Tony said no more and just focused his attention on the kid. “That was what that video Sarah Rogers was so adamant to record was all about. What she used the last of her energy to ensure… her son’s protection.

“SHIELD might want him as an asset… No,” Bruce corrected, “it’s Fury who wants him to be an agent, but not everyone does. Kraft was not the only scientist SHIELD has, Romanoff.

“I can also tell you without any doubt, he was not the only unscrupulous one,” Bruce pointed out knowing he was not wrong. “They want him locked in a lab now, and they won’t stop at anything to get him if what just happened reaches their ears. Fury or no Fury,” Bruce told her.

Natasha sighed, they were right of course. Fury had set his eyes on the Cap as an asset for SHIELD the moment he was informed Rogers was actually alive. She also knew the Director revoked most permissions he had initially approved to take samples from the Cap, but not all. The science guys had NOT been pleased, with Kraft being the loudest complainer.

The samples they did obtain from the Captain had been in the Bio-Science labs annexed to the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Installation, and were lost when it was destroyed. So Banner and Stark did have reasons to worry, the scientists were going to want more samples to substitute those they lost.

While she knew the Director would not authorize them, it did not mean the science guys were not going to try to get them anyway they could. Banner was also right about some, although thankfully not all, of SHIELD’s scientists.

A couple of scientists, had actually tried to obtain extra samples from the unconscious Super Soldier by sneaking into the room they assigned him, or by bribing the guards. They were the reason, besides Kraft, Coulson was instructed to watch over Rogers while he regained consciousness.

Natasha’s eyes fixed on the Cap, he had not stopped, even when she could see he was on his last legs. There was so much anger there, but also so much pain. She had to wonder if he would pull through, as well as what his real age was. Natasha also knew the only way she would have answers would be by agreeing to keep silent.

She had left the Red Room because she wanted to be better, to… work for the good guys. Her loyalty was to SHIELD, and yet… She could not deny they had messed up with Rogers badly enough it had touched her, enraged her, and made her want to destroy those who hurt him.

She had felt so… protective towards Rogers, whom even Fury believed to be a boy, and he clearly was younger than they thought. Did what she witnessed change anything really?

Her mind brought back the images of the betrayed, scared, hurt, and lost Rogers they had witnessed on the helicarrier. Natasha would never forget them because to her shock back then, seeing such a strong, confident, and powerful young man looking so… vulnerable had affected her.

Perhaps Rogers super power was not being a Super Soldier, but being able to awaken protective instincts towards him in everyone he met, even those who believed they had no hearts, like Stark… or herself.

She sighed, her heart was aching at seeing the Cap keep pounding the alien monster, even when he clearly had exhausted himself, and had very little strength left.

“Very well, Stark"—at hearing his name the billionaire took his eyes from the young man—"Banner, you have my word. I will keep whatever this is from anyone but those present at this moment,” she agreed. “Now, explain.”

“We can’t say much out here, you understand?” Tony said, who knew who was listening in? As it was, he was sure some people had already taken either photos, or video from the scene with Sarah. They all nodded.

He caught a few, those closest to them, and managed to make the images unusable but he was too tired to further his range. He did warn JARVIS, and the AI was already searching the Internet for any images of them where Steve’s, and the assassin duo’s faces, were visible, besides those of them with Sarah. JARVIS' job was to delete them, from the source if possible.

“We don’t have the whole story,” Bruce began, “there has not been time for it. But in short, Steve is a time traveller,” they all stared at him in shock. Barton… Clint even gaped. “He was born in 1999, and the woman who just passed away was indeed his mother, his only relative.

“He is truly a genius, and had an illness list as long as my arm. Steve did graduate from MIT at eleven with two Master titles, one in Mechanical Engineering, and the other in Computers and Philosophy…”

“So he was the one who hacked the surveillance room, not Stark,” she concluded sounding a bit impressed. Graduated out of MIT at ELEVEN? Not even Stark managed that. Besides, Natasha knew it was not as easy to hack SHIELD as Stark believed.

“Yes, that was him,” Bruce confirmed, seeing no damage in doing so.

“But how the fuck did he end in the past?” Clint could not help but ask.

“I think we should leave the rest of the explanations for a more private setting,” Tony said pointedly looking at the small crowd they were beginning to attract.

Many of those congregating close to them had their phones and tablets out. So Tony decided the best he could do was to just temporarily disable any cameras in the vicinity, but he did erase any photos and video of them on those closest.

* * *

_Jake: /What the fuck are you doing, Tony? You just disabled HC’s camera, and deleted some amazing photos and video. I just got him repaired._ \

_Tony: /Sorry about that._ \ He was surprised to hear him, and his eyes searched for the other technopath. He knew Jake worked and lived in Queens, so what was he doing in Manhattan?

_Eva: /No you’re not. Let me tell you Mikey is not happy to hear bubbles…_ \ They could feel he was lying.

_Jake: /Bubbles?_ \ He mentally snorted.

_Tony: /So your kid ended a technopath as well?_ \

Jake and Eva were the other two technopaths in New York City. Mid range both of them. She had a three year old son who had been showing signs of having inherited her abilities.

_Tony: /Anyway, what the fuck are you guys doing in Manhattan, and out on the streets after we almost got invaded by aliens and nuked by those in power?_ \

_Eva: /Yeah he is one of us, and don’t ask, Jake, it was Mikey who named my newest smart phone. I had an appointment at Stark Industries' Human Resources Department, if you must know. You’re hiring now, Tony._ \

_Jake: /Same here actually, everyone knows your company pays very well. Didn’t expect to get caught in your super hero shit though. Good job by the way, and thanks. I rather not be enslaved by those ugly aliens, or fried by a nuke._ \

_Tony: /I’ll talk to my CEO about you._ \ He really could do with some technopaths working for Stark Industries. _/Look guys, there’s not much chance to chat. I really need to keep any photos or video of my companions, those where their faces are visible, from being posted anywhere._ \

_Tony: /Two of them are secret agents, the real kind before you say anything, Jake. I told you I did consulting jobs for SHIELD. The blond pummeling that whale like beast is one of us, he fell through the spaces in our net, and no one mentored him. His Mom just died…_ \

_Jake: /Tony, the guy is a carbon copy of Captain America! He can’t be one of us._ \

_Tony: /He is…_ \ He mentally sighed Jake was as much of a fanboy as Agent had been. _/Look guys it’s a long story, and I’m beat. Believe me, fighting aliens is no fun. I promise I’ll explain later, right now I just need to keep Steve and the ninja assassins safe from exposure. So I really could use a hand._ \

_Jake: /And his name is Steve as well?_ \ He felt Tony’s annoyance at his question, so he backtracked. Tony in a snit always gave him a long lasting migraine, never mind the fact he tended to change the settings and passwords of all his tech. _/Okay, okay, don´t get your titanium whatever suit in a bunch, Tony. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it._ \

_Eva: /You can count on us, Tony. Do you want any of the others to help keep the net free of their photos?_ \ She sent him a mental hug, and sensed Jake sent him a bro hug.

_Tony: /Yeah, yeah, that’ll be… That’ll be great guys. JARVIS is on it, but technopaths are better at this type of thing. Tell everyone I said hi, and they have my thanks._ \

* * *

“That’s actually a good idea,” Natasha agreed noticing what Stark was looking at. There were too many people starting to gather to gape at them and at Steve, who had just fallen to his knees in exhaustion.

“I will go assist the Son of Rogers,” Thor said looking in the young midgardian’s direction. The boy was actually crawling back to the Chitauri transport beast to keep pummeling it.

The young Captain did not respond to him when Thor addressed him. He was completely focused on destroying as much as he could of the beast, but he had no strength left. What little he had regained when he slept at the feasting place was gone by his attack on the Chitauri troops transport.

The boy was only able to give him some token resistance when he pulled him away from the very mangled beast, but he had not uttered a word of protest. Thor tried to get him back on his feet, but the Son of Rogers simply could not remain upright anymore, so he picked the child in a grown man’s body up. Thor knew none of their brothers in arms had the strength to carry the young one, with the exception of the Hulk, but it was the doctor who was out.

While Thor went to get Steve, Tony told them they were going to take Sarah’s body with them, to which all agreed somberly. It was simply not right to leave her there for the crews to pick up later. He had a room at the tower they could use to keep the kid’s mother until proper funeral arrangements could be made. Tony would take care of them, but he also wanted to have Steve’s input, if the kid was able to speak about it.

Tony did not hide his concern, because Steve had not uttered a word, or responded to anyone since his mother passed away. A look at the others told him he was not the only one worried, specially when Thor approached them carrying the unresponsive and limp kid in his arms.

Bruce immediately went to check on Steve, taking advantage of the ambulance’s equipment. He could not deny being very concerned when he realized Steve went into shock, and it was not just the emotional kind. His pulse, breathing, temperature, and heartbeat told him something was seriously wrong with him.

Bruce was no medical doctor, but had learned quite a bit of medicine during his time on the run, and even before that when he was trying to replicate the Super Soldier Serum. So he did know enough to tend to Steve. Clint and Natasha had also ample experience in field first aid, so they were valuable assistants.

“He’s gone into shock,” he informed them. “Thor, lay him down on the floor. Tony find something to raise his legs with. Romanoff get me one of the thermal blankets and something to cut his uniform with. Clint get me the paramedic kits from the ambulance including oxygen.”

Bruce was all business while he tried to assess just how bad off Steve was, and wondering what the hell was wrong, he had seemed to be banged up but with nothing life threatening. The rest of the team scrambled to follow his orders.

Natasha was quick to provide a thermal blanket to cover their young Captain. She also produced from who knew where a knife—he thought she had used them all during the battle, but he clearly was wrong—to cut Steve’s uniform’s top to give him better access to the kid’s arm, so he could insert an IV, as well as let him check on the bleeding wound on his abdomen.

“Fuck!” was the collective exclamation when they saw the damage done to Steve’s torso.

“Want me to start him on an IV?” Clint asked as he knelt besides their young Captain. He had enough knowledge of field emergency medicine to do that, and frankly Rogers did not look good.

“Yes, do that. Natasha can you finish removing the top of his suit?” She just nodded while Bruce examined the bruised mess and prepared some bandages to try and stop the Chitauri wound from bleeding. That thing looked nasty and rather deep.

They had noticed the wound, and even asked about it, but Steve waved off their concern. He told them thanks to the Super Soldier Serum it was already healing, and since it was a burn it was also cauterized. The youngster clearly strained it enough to open the wound again when he was beating the shit out of the whale thingy.

There were a lot of bruises on Steve’s chest, one in particular looked terrible, and it really did not take a doctor to realize underneath lay broken ribs. Gentle probing confirmed at least two were broken, and they clearly punctured something since there was sign of internal bleeding. They should have ignored his reassurances and checked on his injuries. The next time they would.

They all realized Steve had been more seriously injured than they believed, and he had not told anyone about it. The worst thing about Steve hiding the severity of his injuries was not knowing whether he did it because he was used to being injured in combat, and letting the Super Soldier Serum heal him, or because he did not trust he would be safe if a medical team tended to his injuries. Maybe it was a combination of both.

Bruce, with Clint’s and Natasha’s aid, managed to stabilize Steve enough to move him, and he suggested they get him to a hospital ASAP. Not SHIELD though, anywhere but SHIELD was better, and they all agreed it was for the best to keep him away from the agency.

Tony told them he had a fully equipped and staffed infirmary come hospital at the tower, and it had not been damaged. It was a concession to Pepper because she worried about him and she knew how much he hated hospitals. Pepper had made him promise to get medical attention if he was ever injured bad enough to require it.

The doctors and nurses at the tower where amongst the best, and all had signed confidentiality contracts. They could be trusted to take care of any injury the team had sustained which needed treatment, but specially Steve’s. He also had a well equipped operating room, which Bruce believed would be needed for the Cap.

With Steve safely cradled on Thor’s arms, and Bruce hovering close by to keep an eye on the teen’s vitals, they began making their way back to the tower. Clint and Natasha were in charge of the gurney transporting Sarah’s body while Tony made arrangements on his phone. Once he was done, he took Natasha’s place.


	18. Stark Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces to some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.
> 
> **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ ** _Completely totally AU_** _, Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._
> 
> **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_
> 
> **Author's Note:** First of all, a **HUGE** apology for taking so long in updating. The chapter was mostly done, there was only a little part I was not happy about, so I did some editing, some some splitting, some shuffling about, and finally managed a somewhat short chapter. The part I was having the most trouble got moved to the next chapter, which I might post by the end of the week.
> 
> Anyway the main reason for the delay was simply a mix of real life, which can't be avoided, and Civil War. 
> 
> I knew Civil War would mess up my writing, which it did, and I did not even go to see it because of it. I have way too many pending stories that I really do not wish to leave unfinished. Also #noHYDRACap. No, nope, definitely NO. What was Marvel thinking??!!! 
> 
> There are, however, Civil War spoilers just about everywhere *sighs* (tumblr, but specially Pinterest). Now I just have to wait until it comes out in DVD, or BluRay, to see it and hope it won't put me off writing Avengers fanfiction forever. Anyway, despite being a bit (more like a LOT) discouraged with how things seem to be going in the MCU, I tried to come back to this story and get things done.
> 
> So here it is, chapter 18.
> 
> **Total size without notes:**   3,181
> 
> **_Keys:_**
> 
> "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\_  
> 

## Stark Tower

The moment the doctor in charge at the tower's infirmary saw Steve's condition, she rushed him into the small but well equipped operating room. The wound on his abdomen was still bleeding, and there were signs of internal bleeding as well. There clearly were more problems than just the broken ribs.

The rest of the team simply crashed on any available couch or chair, while doctors and nurses checked on them. They were all exhausted, but none of them wanted to find a bed to rest yet. Even when Tony made it clear there were rooms available for them on the upper floors should they want them. 

Truth be told, they were all extremely worried about Steve, as he had not looked good. At the moment Bruce was in the operating room with him. While he was not a medical doctor he did know enough to supervise the procedure, and make sure no one took samples from the kid. Bruce was also the only one who showered so he could be in there, the others were too tired to bother.

Once they were all patched up—and they had nearly had to sit on Clint for him to allow the doctors to take x-rays of his torso just to make sure he had no broken ribs. Which he thankfully did not, but the archer was going to have one hell of a quiver shaped bruise on his back. Tony sent for coffee, large amounts of the caffeinated drink to keep them somewhat functional.

Despite the coffee, they were all exhausted—physically, emotionally, as well as mentally—and they could admit to either nodding off, or simply zoned out at times, while they did their best to keep a vigil. This was when Tony decided to continue with his explanation, just so they could all remain awake.

"You wanted to know how the kid ended in the past?" He asked them, and got tired nods in response. "There's much we don't know, because Steve was not very forth coming, but I'll tell you what little Bruce and I found out. We aren't sure when exactly, or how, since as I said he was very reluctant to say, but Steve found a small glowing blue gem..."

"A piece of the Tesseract?" Natasha could not help asking becoming more alert. She noticed Thor and Clint focused their full attention on Stark too.

"Not quite, Romanoff," Tony said after drinking some of his coffee. "Steve believes"—he cradled the hot mug in his hands, and settled more comfortably on the couch he had sprawled on, then he continued with the explanation—"and Bruce and I agree with him, since Steve is actually the one who worked with the HYDRA weapons, that it is probably the crystalized energy used to power a HYDRA tank. He says it's the right shape and size, and we have to take his word for it."

"Where did he get it?" Clint asked puzzled, then added. "Because I don't think he had it with him when he was found," he went on with a frown. "It would not only have been in his file, I'm certain Fury would have sent it to Selvig to examine. He would not have let the guy keep something like that, even if it happened to have sentimental value or something."

"Bruce concluded the same thing, Clint. He also realized Steve could not have found it after he was thawed. Simply because SHIELD has kept him under close surveillance. They would have confiscated it, as you say.

"Anyway, Steve did tell us he found the gem in a warehouse by the docks. Only, he refused to tell us when, or why he was there in the first place, and that's what we—well Bruce was the one who did initially—found suspicious," Tony told them.

"But why did he show you this gem, Man of Iron?" Thor was curious he did not see a reason why the young midgardian would choose to do so.

"Long story short, I was fooling around, and Bruce almost touched the scepter's jewel by accident." That earned him three death glares. He just ignored them, used as he was to being glared at for doing stupid things. "Don't say a thing, I got berated by a kid for it. But as I was saying, Steve told us the small gem was able to open a portal large enough to transport all three of us, should anyone touch it, which he did not believe was a good idea." 

Tony went on telling them an edited version of their conversation in the lab then, and the things which made Bruce suspicious. Omitting any mentions of technopaths, of course. He also chose to lie to explain how he knew Steve was younger than he admitted. 

He was good at lying on the go, so it was not too difficult to come with a story as he went. Tony told them his father had once mentioned Captain America was a kid. He told them Howard had been very drunk then, but had said the Cap was sixteen when he died.

"When Howard was sober," Tony went on, "he denied telling me when I asked him about it. So I always suspected Captain America was younger than everyone believed him to be. I had no confirmation of it, until I had JARVIS do a search for a modern Steven Grant Rogers under the age of twenty, who also happened to have an illness list longer than my arm.

"Then lo and behold! JARVIS found Steve," Tony went on too tired to do more than wave just one arm, "twelve years old, a genius, and a very sick kid. He also mysteriously disappeared from his home on February 2 of this year." That got him stunned looks from all three of them.

"He was twelve when he travelled back in time? So how old is he now?" Natasha asked more than a bit shocked. Rogers was practically a child when he went back! How did he manage to survive on his own?

"Yeah he was, and patience, Romanoff"—she had not given them permission to use her first name, and after what she did to Wilkins, he was going to be very careful around her, and as respectful as he could be as well—"I'm getting there. Anyway, we know Steve touched the gem, we don't know whether he did it on purpose, or accidentally.

"The gem opened a portal," Tony continued with the story, "but instead of disintegrating Steve, like the Tesseract did the Red Skull, the portal took him to the past. To 1941 to be precise," he indicated. "He did not tell us, hell, he did not admit to being a time traveller, but Steve din't deny it either. 

"It was only when I talked to Sarah, that I really had confirmation of what happened to him. She was the one who told me that was the year he ended at." It had been a shock to realize how young the kid was when he travelled back, and it was amazing to know he actually managed to survive on his own until Project Rebirth. "After SHIELD found him, the kid somehow managed to send her text messages once a day, and he told her. 

"We don't know how he managed to survive on his own back then..." He said not knowing Natasha, as well as Clint, and even Thor were puzzling about it too

"History says he was very close to Sergeant Barnes..." Natasha trailed off. "Maybe it was because he helped him."

"Could be," Tony admitted. His father had commented Barnes and the Cap had been really close, like brothers, actually. Losing Barnes had devastated the kid according to his father.

"The birth certificate Fury found," Clint added, "he must have falsified one and presented it for the books. Nat said it was issued in 1941, after a fire destroyed many birth records," he pointed out. "That is one clever kid, he knew to take advantage of it, and pass himself as an adult from the start."

"Yeah, he did. I'm truly impressed, specially since he somehow managed to make the people back then believe he was twenty-two, when he really looked twelve; and we've all seen photos of how he looked in wimp form, before the Super Soldier Serum changed him." Tony let that sink in, then went on. "To answer your question Romanoff, he's sixteen now. 

"He was four years in the past. But... I don't know how to feel about this," Tony could see he shocked them by admitting he had feelings. "Steve knew from the start he had to become Captain America, there was no way he didn't, not with his looks, and the name. He knew his history, hell all school kids do! Then Steve knew who he would lose and how. 

"He... He also knew when, where, and vaguely how he would die... Or thought he would die, and yet... He still went through with all of it," he said with a wary sigh. Frankly, Tony did not know how Steve did it. How he coped with knowing he was not going to live to be eighteen.

"That's... so... so fucked up!" Clint exclaimed, while Natasha swore in Russian, and Thor in his own language.

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "That's why I told you he was strong."

"Yet SHIELD nearly broke him," Natasha commented with a sigh. "I suspect you chose to adopt him to protect him from SHIELD."

"Yeah, but also from any other agency who wants to control and/or experiment on him. It really was the only way I could think off. That's why I contacted his mother.

"After I explained a bit about Kraft, without telling her the truly horrible stuff," he hurried to say when all three of them glared at him. "Give me some credit, will you? I'm not THAT insensitive!"

"Sometimes I have my doubts," Natasha muttered, and just got a glare in response.

"Anyway Sarah Rogers agreed to give me joint custody through adoption so I had legal grounds to protect him. My lawyers are already working on it, but Rutherford—my main lawyer—also suggested she made a Will, and appoint me as Steve's guardian should something happen to her before the adoption process was finished," Barton and Romanoff nodded, Thor just looked confused. "Which is the way we're going to go now Sarah's dead.

"No offense, Clint, Romanoff, but SHIELD has assassins in their employ. They could have ordered a hit on her to get her out of the way," he told them. "SHIELD doesn't mess with me, the same with Congress, and the Military. They know I'll turn whatever they do into a huge scandal, and make them look bad while doing it."

"I don't think Fury would have ordered Mrs Rogers eliminated, he's usually not so callous as to go for innocent civilians," Natasha said thoughtfully. She knew he was not that callous as to murder an innocent. "The World Security Council on the other hand..." She trailed off.  

Natasha did know more than a few assassination orders came from the World Security Council, from Alexander Pierce in particular. After he became the American representative to the World Security Council, the assassination missions had tripled. 

She did not like it, it reminded her too much of the work she had to do for the Red Room, but there was not much she could do about it. Natasha knew Clint, as well as several others—including the now late Coulson—shared her opinion on the situation, but they were on the same boat as her, not knowing what they could do.

"Yeah," Clint agreed. "If those bastards thought nothing of nuking New York City," he definitely did not approve of that decision, specially not when he was actually there, "then they wouldn't even have to think about getting rid of the Cap's Mom if they wanted to have control over him. 

"You did right in asking us to keep this quiet, Tony. He's done so much for the world, and does not deserve to be treated as a lab rat, or a mindless weapon. Never mind the fact he is still a kid."

"No he doesn't," they all agreed, and their resolve to protect Steve firmed then. 

They knew that despite his youth, Steve was a good leader, as well as a very good fighter. He proved it to them earlier, so all knew they would follow his orders. But they also realized he was useless at taking care of himself, and off the... battle ground they would overrule his decisions about his health, Tony in particular, since he had become the default parental figure. 

* * *

Some time later, while they all dozed sprawled on the very comfortable couch and chairs, Bruce came out of the operating room. He looked exhausted and somewhat grim, which put everyone on edge. Was the kid in a terribly bad shape? Did Steve die?

"Steve's healing," Bruce began to ease the concern on their faces, even Romanoff was showing it, "and the doctor will bring him out of sedation in a few minutes..."

"But?" Natasha asked as Bruce's face clearly showed there was a problem.

"The Super Soldier Serum might have healed his illnesses, and perfected his body, but it has it's disadvantages as well. His metabolism burns through medicines too fast for them to actually work properly," he explained. "We had a really hard time finding a combination of drugs to keep him sedated." His face was grim. "He almost woke up on us a few times.

"I really need to work on finding something to either slow his metabolism enough for drugs to work, or make the drugs time released..." He shook his head and went on as he fiddled with his glasses. "As it is, the dose the anesthesiologist had to give him would have been lethal for anybody else. 

"Frankly, we're concerned," he admitted. "Steve's going to be in a lot of pain once he's out of sedation, and we don't know what we can give him besides large amounts of morphine, in a continuous drip, which is not ideal.

"He did mention it worked back then, but I really don't like the idea of drugging him up like that. He's also going to wake up very disoriented, and with his enhanced strength we're going to need you around, Thor, as you're the only one besides the Other Guy who can hold him down if need be... unless the suit is working?" He asked Tony.

"The Marks VI and VII are probably lost causes, but I still have the old ones. I can have Dum-E bring the Mark V down here. It's lighter, and portable, but should be strong enough to help contain Steve should it come to that," Tony said and sent a mental command to Dum-E to bring him the football.

"That's the one you used in Monaco?" Natasha asked, and Stark... Tony nodded.

That one fit in a briefcase, which was actually surprising, but she had seen it at work, and had to agree it might be enough. They did not know how strong Steve really was, there were never any tests done to measure it, because he refused to be treated like a lab rat. But judging by what he did to the big whale thing, Steve was VERY strong.

"Do you think it's strong enough?" Natasha had to ask anyway.

"It should be, even if it's not as strong as the others," he told them.

"Good," Bruce said with a nod. He felt better knowing Tony could help should it be necessary. He had a connection with Steve, so the kid might be more prone to listen to him. "I think Thor's strength might be enough, but it's better to have a back up plan, because I rather not bring the Other Guy out in those circumstances. Even now I can tell he really does not like the idea of Steve being hurt, or in pain."

"I will assist you in whatever you need doctor," Thor said showing he was concerned as well. "But what is wrong with the young one?"

"Call me Bruce, Thor, and quite a few things, which he aggravated by unleashing his grief on that thing," Bruce told them, then he gave them the medical report on Steve's condition.

There was the Chitauri wound, which the Super Soldier Serum tried to heal, but pieces of his suit ended in Steve's abdomen and the foreign objects in his body were wrecking havoc. The wound partially closed around them, then his body began rejecting them, and he had the beginnings of a fever by the time Thor deposited Steve on a gurney at Stark Tower.

There were also three broken ribs, on the same side as the wound, which had grazed the spleen and a lung. Both had been bleeding, so Steve had been losing blood internally probably since before he got the Chitauri wound. 

The injuries had not been life threatening, and the Super Soldier Serum would have probably healed them with no trouble.  In fact, it had been doing just that. Unfortunately Steve aggravated them once again, and they became life threatening after his mother died, when he chose to make mince meat out of one of the large flying monsters.

* * *

They were all just absorbing the information Bruce gave them when there was a commotion coming from the recovery room. Steve was clearly out of sedation, and he was very confused. He thought he had slept for several years and was in the future again. He actually got off the bed and tried to escape. 

Bruce had had the foresight to warn the doctors and nurses not to try to stop him, as Steve was stronger than a normal human, and he would certainly harm them even if it was not his intention. They should wait for one of the Avengers to contain him.

Thor was on his feet in a second, and promptly went to stop the youngster, who was clearly panicking at not finding anything familiar. Tony was just a step behind putting on the suit which Dum-E had brought while Bruce explained. 

At Bruce's signal, both Natasha and Clint held back along with him. The two assassins were normal humans, and Steve might harm them inadvertently. For his part, he was not as frail as he looked, but he could not risk unleashing the Other Guy when Steve was so out of it. Who knew how the Other Guy would respond.

Romanoff and Barton were puzzled, but Bruce told them Tony got along with Steve like a house on fire, he was hoping the kid would recognize him. Besides, the suit should protect him even if it was not the most resistant he had. Bruce did not tell them the billionaire had a mental connection with Steve, so he was the one with more chances of calming him.


	19. No sleepin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces to some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.  
>   
>  **Pairing:** _None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy_  
>   
>  **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ **_Completely totally AU_** _, Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._  
>   
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_  
>   
>  **Author's Note:** _Thanks guys for being supportive. The muses have apparently gotten over their funk, and are trying to ignore canon. Which led to me having 4 skinny tiny Steve fics of over 20,000 words on the way. Read practically all of the Iron Man Noir fics with Steve in them—specially those with skinny Steve, never read the comics, but the fics were good—while I was brooding, and those 4 are the end result. I probably won't be posting them any time soon since I have three unfinished fics posted, and I don't think I should, but who knows, if they go over 40,000 words I might._  
>   
>  _Also the updates will still be a bit sporadic since I'm just starting chapter 21. I have some ideas as to where I want the fic to go, so it'll take a bit of time to get there._  
>   
>  _The next chapter is massive, around 8,000 words, and apparently finished. I'm just proof reading it, as well as trying to find a good way to break it. Although I might end posting it the way it is now._  
>   
>  _On the second part of the chapter I wanted include a bit more of Thor, but I don't think I really got him right. For starters, I think he's a bit more complex as a character than he's usually portrayed in fanfiction, or the movies too for that matter. He has to be if he's been alive for at least a thousand years, and has had the training to rule a whole realm._  
>   
>  _Then there's the fact English is not my first language, or the language I speak everyday (truth be told, since I don't practice I'm really awful at speaking it), and the way Thor speaks is... Well more than a bit difficult for me to write. I hope he did not come too OOC._  
>   
>  **Total size without notes:** 4,442  
>   
>  ** _Keys:_**  
>   
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\'_

## No sleepin'

"Steve, it's all right kid, you're not in the future, or in a lab. You're at the tower with me and the other Avengers," Tony was saying both aloud and through a mental link, but the kid's mind was a confused, drugged mess, and he was not getting through.

"You're safe, Steven," Thor told him, trying for a reassuring tone of voice, while he picked up the confused youngster like he was a babe, and returned him to the bed. "We will not allow anyone to harm you."

"No Red Skull..." Steve mumbled confused, then frowned. "Wrong... Skull's gone... Gone?" He corrected still frowning as he tried to clear his mind, with little success. "Not lab?" He was in a lot of pain, and his mind was just so scrambled, he remembered feeling like that in a lab... or lab like place. It... frightened him. "No... No Kraft?" he trembled in remembered fear.

"No kid, Kraft's gone, remember? Hulk got rid of him for you, Steve. I'm Tony remember? Tony Stark, this is my private infirmary," Tony told him both verbally and through the connection they shared, "with doctors I trust."

_Tony: /You're safe here, Steve. I won't let anyone harm you, and neither will the others. I just need you to calm down, and stay in bed.\_

"You worri'd," Steve slurred. "Why? Wha's wrong? Dang'r?" In his muddled mind he did sense the other technopath was very worried, so he tried to get off the bed to deal with whatever was worrying Tony.

"No danger kiddo, we're safe," Tony reassured him, doing his best to keep Steve on the bed without hurting him. "We're at the tower."

"But... You... Worri'd! Why? Why're you… Worri'd?" As team leader it was his responsibility and his duty to see to his people, to make sure they were well after missions. Or if hurt, to ensure they received medical attention.

"I'm worried for you, Steve," Tony told him, and did his best to project some calm and reassurance.

Unfortunately Tony had never been all that good at it. Trixie's parents always complained he made her jittery when he was trying to be calming. She was a four year old technopath he mentored a year ago, when he was living in Malibu. Now Chad, another technopath who lived closer to her, took over her mentoring. He was one of the best mentors they had down south.

"Me? 'm fine, no worry fo' me," Steve tried to reassure him.

"Steve, you were injured during the battle. You had internal bleeding, and the Super Soldier Serum was healing you, but it was not fast enough. The doctors had to operate on you," Tony explained slowly choosing not to lie to Steve. He could feel the kid would not like it, and it might even lose him some of the boy's trust. "So please stop struggling, Steve, we don't want you hurting yourself anymore than you already are."

At his words the boy finally started to calm down, and stopped trying to get off the bed. He was stronger than they thought, and it had been difficult to restrain him without hurting him more than he already was. Thor had had to place an arm across the kid's chest to keep him from getting up again.

"Team... alrigh'?" he slurred. "Not... hurt?" Steve needed to know they were fine. It was part of his duties as their leader. He could not rest, or allow himself to be treated for any injuries, until he knew his team was fine, and it they were not, at least got medical attention.

"Everyone's fine, Cap," Clint reassured the kid as he entered the room followed by Nat and Bruce.

He reached the bed and grabbed an ankle, giving it a firm squeeze. Tony was sitting on the kid's legs wearing his suit sans helmet, his hands holding the Cap's face rather gently. He was trying to keep the kid's attention focused on him, but Clint could see whatever drug cocktail they used to sedate him, was making it very hard for Steve to actually focus his eyes, or his mind, on anything.

For his part Thor had just removed his arm from the kid's chest. Instead he moved to the head of the bed, and used both hands to gently hold down Steve's shoulders. He was keeping the kid from getting up, but was not using as much force as he had.

"Just a few bumps and bruises, nothing to worry about," Clint added.

"Don't worry about us Солнышко(1), we're fine." Natasha said as she approached the head of the bed, and rather tenderly carded her fingers through his hair. Clint stared at her in shock, and she did not blame him, as she only shared this side of her with him and his family. "You on the other hand are not. Be assured we'll be having words about this once you're better." Her tone was slightly stern to convey her seriousness.

"Thor? Bruce?" He felt a large hand squeeze his shoulder gently, and realized Thor was the other one holding him down.

"I am unhurt, young Captain" which was not entirely true, but he knew he would be fine with proper rest and some food. The Man of Iron's healers had done a good job of patching up the small wound Loki inflicted. "Your concern is appreciated, Steven. Howbeit, I find myself disquieted by your injuries young warrior. You must serene yourself, so as not to aggravate the wounds you received in battle."

"I'm here as well, Steve," Bruce grabbed the kid's other ankle, a bit surprised he was not balking a their hands touching him.

In fact, as soon as he had all of them touching a part of him, Steve sighed and finally relaxed. That clearly meant he trusted them not to hurt him, and he also felt safe around them. It was surprising progress, and Bruce believed Steve might recover from what Kraft and his minions did. It did not mean it would be easy, but it truly was good Steve was willing to trust older men.

"I need to check if you did not pull your stitches kid because if you did we'll have to sedate you again." He was also paying close attention to Steve's reactions.

They needed to know how long it took the youngster to metabolize this particular dosage of the sedation cocktail doctor Hamill—the anesthesiologist—concocted. Bruce already knew he did not like how disoriented Steve was, and the way he was slurring his words.

They would need to work on a better version, one which left Steve less confused, and with better muscle control. Because while he was capable of moving about, those movements were sluggish and uncoordinated.

"No, no sleepin', no wakin' in tha future. No losing people... No losing..." He gasped as the memories started making sense, and Steve realized his mother was gone. She had died with him being unable to do anything but hold her hand, he had not been there to protect her. "No, no! My Ma's gone, no. Not fair... Not fair!"

Tears began falling down his cheeks, a strangled sob escaped his lips, and it was soon followed by others. He cried finally allowing himself to start grieving, because he had not grieved for his mother in the past, when he thought he first lost her. Steve had been too focused on surviving, and doing what he knew he had already done to allow himself to really cry for his mother.

The older genius was the one to offer comfort, as well as hold him, even if Tony was not used to it, and did not quite know what to do. Frankly, he had received so little comfort in his life that he barely remembered it.

But Steve was for all intents and purposes his kid, his son. Sarah's Will named him as her son's guardian, and he had given her his word to take care of Steve. So from then on, Tony would be expected to provide whatever comfort and support Steve needed, no matter how inadequate he felt. Or how bad he was at it.

Bruce managed to check Steve's sutures while he grieved in Tony's arms. He had torn up some stitches during the struggle, but they were not many, and could wait until Steve cried himself out. He left to call doctor Davidson, and allow them some privacy. The others followed, but did not go far.

The kid had cried until he could not any more. He was conscious, but listless, and in quite a bit of pain, which Steve shrugged off saying it was something he got used to bearing when he was injured. There really had not been much relief for pain back then, morphine was not always available.

Steve told them to just stitch him up, he could take it, he was no stranger to pain, and it would not be the first time doctors had to stitch him up without anesthetics. Instead of reassuring them, they became even more stubborn, and every one of his team mates adamantly refused to let that happen again.

They all balked at the idea of him being in pain, and that included doctor Davidson who had caught that conversation as she came into the room. But it was Bruce who told him they were going to give him some morphine, and something to put him to sleep so he could finally get some much needed rest. He was taking no arguments.

Doctor Davidson had a nurse bring the necessary drugs to sedate Steve so he could sleep, but he did protest, and tried to get off the bed again. He did not want to be injected with that thing again. The sedative had left him feeling disoriented, and waking up reminded him of his time in the ice. It made him feel like he had skipped years again, and he never wanted to feel like that.

Tony promised to be there when he next awoke, as would the others, to remind him it was still the year 2012. Only after the promise did Steve allow the doctor to sedate him. Doctor Davidson assured him they would be monitoring him closely to make sure the medicines were working properly.

They would also be modifying the dosage at intervals to find what would be the ideal amount for him, and do their best to avoid the side effects he reported. Once he was sedated, doctor Davidson and her staff took Steve to the operating room to stitch him back again.

With Steve back in doctor Davison's capable hands, the team finally allowed themselves to relax. The kid was out of danger, and he would heal, physically at least. In fact, he would probably be up and about in a week or so, which was reassuring to all of them.

Healing emotionally was another matter, but they were not leaving him alone. That was important, as was letting him know he had their support. They were staying with him to make it clear Steve could count on them, and he truly was not alone, specially not after his very recent loss, and his fear of awakening alone in the future.

Tony had a few of his people bring some extra beds, blankets, pillows, and couches which they arranged in the very large room. They only waited for the nurses to settle Steve back on his bed before collapsing on their chosen sleeping surface. Even Natasha was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

 

* * *

## Asgardian musing

 

The next morning Thor was the first to wake, as his injuries were minimal, and he had not been as tired as the midgardian warriors. The knife wound Loki inflicted was healing fast, the blade's point had barely pierced through his armor. So with good food, the assistance of the midgardian healers, as well as some hours of rest he had his energy and health back.

He chose to sit by the Captain's bedside, and ended deep in thought, while he watched the youngster and the Man of Iron sleep. The boy was resting on his uninjured side, head tucked under the Man of Iron's chin, body curled towards the older man unconsciously seeking comfort and protection; acting like the young boy he had been when he was lost, and who was forced to grow up faster than any child should have.

On its own, finding himself alone and in a strange place with no way back home, was enough to mature, or to break any child. Add to that the fact young Steven chose to get involved in war, chose to be a warrior, and to become the leader of older and more experienced men.

The Son of Rogers had been forced to assume responsibilities no child should have—which according to what he had been told, as well as seen Steven had done admirably, even better than some grown men would have—and yet... the young boy he was was still there, still needing the support from people who cared. Specially during such trying times as the loss of a mother was.

For his part the Man of Iron was sleeping half on his back, one arm keeping the boy close, and snoring lightly. During the night the young one had been awakened by nightmares twice—despite the sleeping potions the Healer was giving him.

The nightmares had clearly been bad as he was very shaken. The potions the Healer was giving him had made him too disoriented, which had not helped the young one. Bruce had not been pleased by the potions effects, and he had taken copious notes on one of those flat contraptions the Man of Iron provided for him. Thor could see the man behind the Hulk would be personally taking the job of finding a better sleeping potion for the young Captain.

The second nightmare had been the worst, Steven had screamed, cried, as well as begged, and it was hard on all of them to be reminded of what was done to the youngster. Knowing the Hulk had taken care of those evil men was no real comfort, even if they knew justice was served, and Steven had been avenged.

It had been very difficult to awaken the son of Rogers from the nightmare, and even when he had opened his eyes, the young one had not recognized them. He had to restrain him again, as the young Captain tried to get off the bed, and run away. Thankfully their reassurances and comforting words did help, and Steven was finally able to tear himself from the nightmare's grip.

Unfortunately after such terrible dreams the youngster had refused to go back to sleep, with reason. They all understood where he was coming from, since neither of them were nightmare free, but young Steven had need of rest to heal. In the end the Man of Iron climbed on the bed, and held him like a father would his young son. All the while he whispered reassuring words, and promises of protection.

Thor still found it hard to believe the Captain who led them into battle—and who had earned his respect as a leader—was a child, in the body of an adult. But it was left clear to all who could see the Son of Rogers not only had the spirit, and courage of a true warrior, he was clearly a natural at it.

He felt honored to have fought besides one such as he. There would be good tales to regale his friends with when he returned to Asgard. Thor was sure Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three, would want to meet such a courageous young warrior, as well as the rest of the Avengers. Once the Bifrost was repaired, the opportunity might present itself.

The Son of Coul had told him Captain America's story, full of trying times because of a frail health since he was born, as well as brave and courageous acts, but everyone had believed him a grown man. In Asgard young Steven would have been honored with feasts and songs about his prowess in battle, and the Allfather himself would have greatly rewarded him.

The Son of Rogers' many victories over his enemies, as well as his honorable sacrifice to protect his land, and its people would have become legends for future generations to appreciate and be inspired. The Son of Coul told him things were done somewhat differently in Midgard, but the young Captain had been honored in their way.

The only sign Thor had seen it was so were the Son of Coul's own words, his respect, and admiration. Because the SHIELD had kept young Steven in the shadows, a secret from the people he had sacrificed himself to protect, and guarded like one would a dangerous criminal, not an honored warrior.

Then the SHIELD's own people hurt the young Captain in ways no man, woman, but specially a child should be hurt—even if young Steven looked like a grown man, and not the boy he truly was. The fact it was done right in their fortress, and under their very noses with no one the wiser did not speak well of the SHIELD.

What happened to him was not right, and the Son of Rogers' soul was hurting deeply because of their evil deeds, and complete disregard of his honorable actions. It was shameful, and Thor did not like it at all. It made him believe his trust in the SHIELD was misplaced. Yet young Steven proved his greatness, his prowess as a fierce warrior, as well as a leader, by pushing everything aside to fight once again to protect his homeland.

To be truthful Thor had already been concerned for him, after their conversation at the eatery, before they came across young Steven's deathly injured mother. He could see the Captain was strong, and resilient—now that he knew more of his true history, it was even more evident—but even the best of warriors had a limit, and Thor feared the young Midgardian had reached his.

The Son of Rogers had lost everything, in a very short period of time. To make things worse they discovered the young one had travelled through time, he had lost all he had known and loved twice; and to lose his mother, just when they were to be reunited only added to the heart ache.

He really did not know what the young one could have done for the Norns to be so cruel to him, but Thor would speak to them on young Steven's behalf once he was back in Asgard. The youngster deserved some peace and happiness in his life.

Thor found it difficult to picture how young Steven must have felt when he discovered it was him the one which the legends—or the Midgardian version of them—spoke about. It required much fortitude to know about the tragic—although victorious—end awaiting him, and still go through with it.

Yet, in the true way of the bravest and most courageous heroes, the Son of Rogers met his destiny head on. Young Steven went to face his death, only to discover that instead of dying, he had been in a frozen slumber for many years.

From what the Son of Coul told him, it was the SHIELD who found young Steven, and rescued him from his frozen prison. The Captain had gone full circle, and was back to where he started, yet it was not the joyous occasion it should have been.

While the Director might have had good intentions, the fact remained the SHIELD's people had not only grievously hurt the young Captain when he was most vulnerable, but they had also betrayed his trust. The SHIELD's people had nearly broken him, when he had held strong after so many trying circumstances, and now the tragic death of his mother just had added to that.

Thor feared the young Captain might not pull through, and it made him more determined to find a way to return to Midgard as soon as possible... The Son of Rogers should not be left alone. At least the Man of Iron was taking young Steven into his family, which was good. Bruce would also be close, and thankfully the archer and Lady Natasha chose to side with the Captain.

The boy would not be alone during such trying times, but Thor still felt he should be close as well. Perhaps the gem the young one found might provide the portal to cross from Asgard to Midgard. It was certainly an option to consider, and he would consult with his mother and the Allfather about it.

 

* * *

Thor had not been keeping a vigil for long when Lady Natasha awoke. The first thing she did was check on the young one, carding her fingers through his hair tenderly, and giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Then she checked the others, giving him a small nod in greeting, which Thor returned. What she did for her team mates was a surprisingly caring action from someone who showed little emotion. After she had seen to everyone, she went out of the room for a few moments leaving him puzzled.

When she returned Lady Natasha pulled one of the comfortable chairs to his side and joined the vigil. Thor knew better than to offer assistance, being friends with Lady Sif had taught him that. Her Prince he might be, but Sif would have kicked him in the family jewels so hard he would probably still be feeling it after a century.

Thor knew well female warriors were proud creatures, and they fought much harder than men to get accepted and recognized. The best compliment he could give one, was not to treat them like frail flowers... unless he was courting the favors of one, and even then some of them still did not like it.

He spared her a look, but Lady Natasha was a very hard woman to read, and there was not a hint as to why she had left. Still, Thor was curious as to where she had gone, but decided not to ask. He knew the volume of his voice was loud—even when he tried to lower it—but his brothers in arms needed the rest, more than he needed to satisfy his curiosity.

Moments later some... servants—he supposed that was what they were—came with folded clothes, towels, and toiletries. Lady Natasha suggested he took a shower, and while he did she would keep watch.

Thor took a whiff at himself, and grimaced, he stank bad enough they were probably smelling him back in Asgard, so he accepted the opportunity to be clean. Yesterday they had been too concerned for young Steven, and too tired to even think of bathing.

 

* * *

 

The bathing room was the largest and most comfortable he had seen so far in Midgard, and luxurious enough to compete with those of the Asgardian Palace. Thor was impressed at the facilities the Son of Stark provided for them. Thankfully, Thor had learned how to use the Midgardian facilities room the first time he visited. Darcy, his Lady Jane, and Erik had taught him how to use them.

Before he entered the bathing chamber, Lady Natasha gave him linens to dry himself, some manly smelling soap, as well as the strange metal container which contained something Darcy called deodorant—and which she had insisted he used without fail. Then she searched the clothes the servants brought for something that might fit his larger frame.

When he came out feeling refreshed, as well as hungry, Hawkeye and Bruce were sitting on their sleeping places—a comfortable couch, and a narrow bed—looking half awake. Lady Natasha went to get herself cleaned at another bathing room while the archer used the one he was coming out of.

As Thor took his place by the bed to keep his vigil, he noticed the Man of Iron was awakening as well. They would soon be calling the healers to remove the sleeping potion, and awaken the young Captain.

They were all cleaned up, wearing loose trousers, and t-shirts (as Darcy called them) with the Son of Stark's family name, which for some reason had him chuckling while the archer mock scowled at him, and Lady Natasha just rolled her eyes at them. Someone had brought hot and cold drinks for them, as well as some pastries for a very light repast. That wonderful midgardian beverage called coffee was amongst them.

The Man of Iron called the healers after they all had broken their fast. They pronounced the young warrior on the mend after their examination, and informed them the stitches might be removed in a couple of days. The bandages around his ribs had to remain a week, though.

Young Steven healed much faster than normal midgardians, so Healer Davidson was sure he would be up and about in no time. Before the Healer removed the machines giving the boy the sleeping potion the Healer instructed her nurses to give the young one a bath.

They had all vacated the room for a few minutes to give the Captain some privacy, although Lady Natasha refused to leave the Son of Rogers alone with strangers. She stood guard by the door, watching the nurses work with the protectiveness of a warrior mother.

Lady Natasha made sure none of the nurses hands would stray to take advantage of the young one's vulnerable condition. No one would violate young Steven's body—like that midgardian named Kraft and his minions did—while on her watch. They were all deadly warriors, but the Son of Coul had told him Lady Natasha was the deadliest of them all, and Thor did not doubt it .

All went well, the nurses did their job respectfully, and once they were done, they removed the machines giving the boy the sleeping potion. The Man of Iron was about to climb back onto the bed with young Steven—as they did not want him to wake up panicked again—when the SHIELD's Director arrived.

The one eyed Master Spy came into the room as the healers left. His one eye widened in a bit of shock at seeing the young Captain on the bed, and not awake. There was no hiding the fact he had been injured. The Man of Iron's face took a forbidding look, and he moved to place himself protectively between the Director and the boy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1)>Солнышко = Solnyshko = Small sun


	20. Unwelcome Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing:** _Mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy, and Tony/Pepper_  
>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces to some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.  
>  **Warnings:** _NOT SLASH, AU,_ ** _Completely totally AU_** _, Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting._  
>  **Characters:** _Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Thor, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Maria Hill, Sarah Rogers, mentions of Bucky, mentions of Peggy Carter, mentions of Howard Stark, mentions of Colonel Phillips, mentions of the Howling Commandos, Jarvis, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey_  
>  **Timeline:** _Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers_  
>  **Author's Note:** Huge chapter guys, but it really had no good place to cut it. My updates are still going to be slow, but it does not mean I'm abandoning the story. I just reached the end of what I had previously written, so it's going to take me a bit more to write new chapters.  
>    
>  Thank you for sticking with me, and please have patience. As I said, I'm not abandoning the story.  
> 
> 
> **Total size without notes:** 8,445
> 
> **_Keys:_**  
>  "Speaking aloud."  
>  _'Thoughts'_  
>  _Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech\_
> 
> * * *

##  **Unwelcome visitor**

"What do you want Fury?" Tony demanded in a none too friendly tone.

Thor stood up from his chair besides the bed, and moved to stand behind him to offer backup. Even in sweat pants, a t-shirt, barefoot, and without his mighty hammer on hand, the blond Asgardian was still massive and intimidating. It had been an unspoken agreement the previous night, neither of them was letting anyone from SHIELD close to Steve without proper supervision by any of them.

On the bed Steve whimpered. The kid had done that at intervals during the night despite the powerful sedatives. He also did it in between the two nightmares which awakened him fully, and which he should not have had with the amount of drugs going into his system. They had been enough to knock out a hippo.

Tony peeked into Steve's mind and sensed he would be waking up soon. He hated the fact Fury would make him break his promise to the kid. He would not be there to remind him it was still 2012, and he had only slept for a few hours. They did not need Steve tearing up his stitches again because he was too disoriented to know where and when he was. Tony glared at the cyclops even more venomously.

It seemed Natasha realized the same thing, because she stood from her chair—briefly squeezed his arm as she passed him— then moved to the bed. She chose to take his place holding Steve. Tony was relieved Natasha would keep the kid from panicking when he awoke.

Natasha got comfortable on the bed, and pulled Steve closer to her, so his head was resting on her shoulder and under her chin, and she could hold him with both her arms. Natasha ignored her boss' incredulous expression at her actions, and began whispering endearments and soothing words in Russian.

Steve calmed down, relaxing in her embrace as he sighed softly. Stark turned to her, and Natasha was surprised when he sent her a grateful look, a tight smile, and a barely noticeable nod. He could not be there while he dealt with Fury, but was trusting her to take care of Steve in his place, and that was more than she ever thought Stark would trust her. Natasha knew he had not been happy she had turned to be a spy back when he was dying of palladium poisoning, even if she had saved his life. In a way she understood, Stane's betrayal was still too fresh.

"What happened to Rogers?" Nick demanded choosing to ignore Stark's question.

Nick schooled his features to hide the bewilderment at Romanoff's actions, and also to avoid showing how surprised he was at seeing them all take a protective stance around the Captain. It was... unexpected, specially the fact Romanoff had climbed on the bed to soothe the Captain while he was sleeping.

"He broke some ribs at some point during the battle, then he was injured by one of those Chitauri rays, and he kept on fighting," he responded curtly. "After the fight was over the stubborn idiot told us his injuries were minimal, and were healing already thanks to the Super Soldier Serum." Tony knew he should reprimand Steve for it, but seeing as he would have done the same he could not. It would be rather hypocritical of him.

"The Super Soldier Serum was indeed healing him," Bruce reported stepping into the conversation. "Unfortunately, it started closing the wound around burnt pieces of his suit. His body rejected the foreign objects, so they were interfering with the healing, and he developed a fever.

"On top of that he was bleeding internally," Bruce added. "It was necessary to operate to open the wound again, remove the burnt tissue, extract the foreign objects, clean the wound, then close it again. The doctors also took care of the puncture wounds to his spleen and lungs caused by three broken ribs."

"I see..." Nick had had no idea the Captain had been so badly injured. "He seemed fine, until he single handedly, and with his bare hands, decided to make mince meat of a leviathan." He glared at all of them, not that it seemed to have much effect. "Care to explain what that was about? We need the darn things as undamaged as possible for study."

"You asked too much," Natasha said from the bed before Stark could, deadly glare fixed on her boss.

She started carding her fingers through Steve's rather soft hair in a soothing manner, while she held the teen close to her protectively. Steve sighed still asleep, but she could tell he would be waking up soon. The Super Soldier Serum should be taking care of the sedatives now he was not receiving a continuous dose.

The Director looked at her surprised. Natasha supposed Fury found it strange to see her soothing someone... so tenderly. It was not in her nature to do so. But Steve needed it, needed to know he was not alone, needed to be reassured there were still people who cared what happened to him, and who would keep him safe when he was not able to do so himself.

To her surprise Natasha discovered yesterday her shockingly strong protective streak was no longer just focused on Clint, his family, and Stark. She still did not know how the idiotic genius managed that, but she was rather... fond of Stark, even when he exasperated her at times—to the point of wanting to throttle him. Not that she let him know, it would only give him an ego boost, and if that thing got any more hot air Stark was going to end flying without the need of a suit.

Yesterday, after learning the truth about Steve, Natasha made the choice to protect him, from anyone, even SHIELD. It had not been only her, though, the others had made the same choice, and she had actually been shocked to discover to what lengths Stark and Banner were willing to go to do so.

Even when Stark had practically just met Steve a couple of days ago—as opposed to knowing Captain America all his life thanks to his father—the billionaire had decided to actually adopt the teenage soldier, and co-parent with Steve's mother to protect him and keep him out of SHIELD's clutches.

The woman was gone, but the engineer was still going to go through with the adoption. Natasha could not say she disapproved after seeing how well the Cap responded to him. Not just that, but Stark actually surprised her by showing he could be supportive, caring, and gentle with another human being.

It had not escaped her notice the man had not had a clue of how to be supportive, or felt comfortable doing it, but he did his best, and it helped soothe Steve. The young Captain whimpered softly again, and she pulled him closer as she switched to French.

Natasha knew Fury did not speak the language, but Steve did. It was in his file, and he had apparently learned it because one of his Howling Commandos—Jacques Dernier—was a Frenchman. She knew he was awake, his back had tensed slightly, but he had not moved or opened his eyes. Steve was probably assessing his situation before revealing he was awake.

"I asked too much?" Nick was bewildered.

"He was already messed up when you found him, Fury," Tony growled as he leaned against the foot of Steve's bed. "He was a soldier in a very cruel war, that alone is enough for PTSD. But it was not just that.

"Steve had just lost his brother in all but blood less than a week before going after the Red Skull, and then he chose to sacrifice himself for his country. The Capsicle believed he would die when he crashed that fucking plane!" Tony exclaimed.

After doing something similar less than twenty-four hours ago, he truly understood how that messed up with one's mind and emotions. He truly had not expected to survive, and odd as it was, Tony made his peace with that.

Finding out he did survive left him more messed up than he had been, and frankly it was only his desire to keep Steve safe, and later to offer as much comfort as he could, which had kept him from dwelling too much on his own PTSD. It really was a miracle he managed to sleep at all, and without nightmares at that.

_Steve: /You're still calling me that nickname?\_ he asked still sleepy, but not as disoriented as he had been the previous day.

The Super Soldier Serum was clearing the drugs from his system, but frankly, even if they did not put him to sleep, it was all he wanted to do. Just... close his eyes and sleep, and not wake up. But not like when he was frozen; that... that had been... different. Steve had died then, and the process had been terribly slow.

_Tony: /You have to admit it's amusing, kid, but I'm using it mostly for Fury's benefit. Stay awake, Steve. You're not alone, we're all with you, and when you're feeling better I'll organize a mind meet, so you can get to know other technopaths,\_ he said sensing the imminent depression. Then sent him a mental hug. He was going to have to find a good therapist, and perhaps a grief counselor for him.

"Instead he ended in suspended animation"—Tony went on like he had not just spoken mentally with Steve—"and awoke seventy years in the future to find he had lost everything! Then SHIELD 'rescues' him," he used his fingers to air quote the rescue part, "and ends fucking him up even worse!" He actually snarled, and was surprised when all of his team mates seconded it.

"Look, I ordered Kraft to leave him alone," Nick defended himself, eyeing the men, and one deadly woman, with reservation. It did not take a genius to see they were in protective mode. All of them, and in that group there was not one who was not deadly. "The motherfucker was not supposed to come within fifty feet of the Cap. Believe me, Stark, I did not approve any kind of experimentation on him. I would never have."

"Liar," Natasha called him on it, and Fury startled. "You authorized for some samples to be taken BEFORE he regained consciousness." At her last words she could almost feel the animosity being directed at her boss from the others.

Stark was practically vibrating with barely contained fury, his eyes darting towards the suitcase with the Mark V. Clint crossed his arms, displaying his muscled biceps. He was actually very good at hand to hand, which most people would not believe since he was for all instances and purposes a sniper. Thor summoned his hammer, and Bruce's skin took a hint of green. There would be little left of Fury if they attacked.

Natasha just directed a piercing glare at her boss, then kept carding the fingers of one of her hands through Steve's very soft hair. After the doctor had checked him this morning, she instructed the nurses to give him a sponge bath to clean away the grime and sweat from the fight. They did it before they took him off the sedatives keeping him asleep.

She had kept watch while they bathed him. Natasha wanted to make sure none of the two women and one man got too handsy. They were professionals, and Stark might be paying them handsomely, but no one could deny Steve had a body to die for, and it would be tempting to paw him when he was not able to protest. Luckily for them, the nurses had been indeed very professional, and their hands did not stray.

Her other hand rubbed gentle circles on Steve's back. Natasha had felt him tense at her words, and she wanted him to calm down. In French she reassured him those samples were destroyed, but she wanted Fury to own his actions, and come clean about them. The other men in her team clearly understood the language, as they went from murderous to just plain furious.

"You will have those, and the ones the maniac took, delivered to us ASAP Fury," Tony's tone broached no argument, "Once we have them, Steve can choose whichever method he desires to destroy them."

"Listen, you asshole, you're in no position to demand anything from SHIELD," Nick bristled, and he glared at Romanoff. What the fuck was wrong with her? Why had she revealed classified information, specially something she was not supposed to know?

"No Fury, it's you who are in no position to refuse. You have already fucked up. You let that psychopath passing for a doctor get his hands on Steve," Tony pointed out. "You are NOT keeping ANYTHING your mad scientists took from him without his consent, period."

"The Hulk won't be pleased his warning was not heeded," Bruce said mildly—while leaning on the bed he had slept on—yet allowing a hint of the Hulk's displeasure to show.

"Doctor Banner," Nick began rather shocked at the threat.

A very valid threat. The other prisoners in the detention block were terrified out of their minds, and not just of the Hulk. The idea of even being in the same building with Captain America if he so much as had a paper cut sent them into hysterics. He... did not blame them, not after he saw the results of the Hulk's very clear threat.

"You knew Kraft was a psychopath, and as unscrupulous as they come, with absolutely no regard for the rest of the human race, and on top of that he was obsessed with getting super soldiers, at ANY COST," Bruce pointed out voice hard as steel, skin and eyes with a greenish tint, the Hulk growling in his mind wanting to come out to make his point. "Hell, Steve was not even his first victim, nor the second, or the tenth. Yet you did not make sure he obeyed your orders, Director."

"Doctor Banner..." Nick tried again to protest, not wanting the Hulk to make an appearance. He definitely did not want a repeat of what he did to Kraft, Wilkins, and Frampton. Specially not with him on the receiving end of the punishment.

"One of my regular assignments was to infiltrate Kraft's labs—the four SHIELD provided, not including the helicarrier, and the one at his place—and rescue whoever he had managed to lure into his clutches." Clint chose to speak. "I've rescued several new recruits, Junior Agents, as well as homeless kids and teens from those labs, Director.

"They were all still alive, but it does not mean he did not kill others. I'm certain that psycho had good methods to dispose of any bodies resulting from his experiments. Unfortunately, I was never able to catch him in the act, Sir," and Clint really regretted it

"Four labs, Barton?" he said slowly.

How the fuck did Kraft get four labs, and without him knowing about them? Nick only sent two teams, one to secure the one in the New York Offices, the only one he was aware SHIELD provided for him, besides the helicarrier since Coulson took care of that one. The other team he sent to Kraft's house, where he knew the man had another, less equipped lab.

The information Barton provided was not good, and much as he did not want them to know he had not been aware of something for once, Nick decided it was more important to secure the other three labs. He took his phone and dialed his second.

"Hill," he began once she picked up the call. "Kraft had three more labs than we were aware off, question the prisoners, and get their locations. I want to know who else knows about them, and who the fuck authorized those labs without informing me. Then send a STRIKE team plus a team of regular agents with some biological sciences background to secure each of them.

"Make it clear, Hill, under threat of being delivered to the Hulk for punishment, no one is allowed to touch any samples taken from Captain Rogers"—he turned to the Avengers, who were still glowering at him—"would it be acceptable, Doctor Banner, if you collected the samples? It is my understanding you're also a biochemist." Perhaps this should start appeasing them, but particularly the doctor.

Bruce turned to look at the other Avengers, and got a nod from them, then he answered Fury. "Yes, that would be acceptable. I want access not only to Kraft's research notes, but those from your scientists working on the samples you authorized. I need to be certain no samples were used in any way."

"That... can be arranged," Nick granted even if he was not too happy about disclosing so much to a non SHIELD party. "The ones we took were all destroyed"—they all glared at him, clearly not believing his words, even if they were actually the truth—"when Loki destroyed our installation in the Mohave Desert.

"We had the biosciences labs in the compounds' annexes. The samples were stored there, and we barely had the time to evacuate most of our personnel. But there was no chance to take everything we had stored. I chose to give precedence to Phase Two," he admitted.

The four of them looked at Romanoff for confirmation, and there actually appeared to be some type of communication between them all. Then Romanoff nodded, eyes going back to Rogers, she resumed her gentle carding, and after some soft spoken words in French she actually kissed the blond's forehead.

Fuck! They were actually attuned enough with each other for non verbal communication. He really was not sure whether to be pleased by it, or... afraid. Nick had wanted that kind of cohesion between them, as it would make the Avengers a better and more efficient team.

Unfortunately, at the moment they were rather hostile against him, and SHIELD. It was never a good thing to be the object of their individual animosity, together... Well it did not bode well for him or SHIELD. Loki was proof enough of what happened when someone angered all of them.

"As soon as the labs are secured send a quinjet to Stark tower to pick up doctor Banner, Hill," he instructed his second in command.

"I know where the labs are, Director," Clint informed him. "I can give you their locations. If Bruce agrees, I can fly him to them once they are secured. I just need a helicopter, or a quinjet."

"Barton..." Nick began. It was not that he did not trust the agent, but... He had been possessed by Loki less than twenty-four hours ago.

"That would be perfect, Clint, thank you," Bruce said pleasantly with a smile that was bordering on a smirk at his fellow Avenger, and which Clint returned. "The Other Guy and I would feel more comfortable with someone we trust at our back."

The message was clear, and he was pleased Fury understood it. Clint was clean of Loki's influence, the Other Guy smelled it, and he could actually accept the archer, as well as the other Avengers. Although Bruce could tell his favorite was the Cap.

"Very well," Nick nearly growled in exasperation. He really was beginning to regret getting this bunch of misfits together, they went from completely dysfunctional, to shockingly cohesive, and overprotective in too short a time. "I'll have a quinjet land on Stark's helipad. Barton, you need to provide Hill with the addresses."

"I need a phone, Tony, do you have one I can borrow?" Clint asked the billionaire.

"The coms you used yesterday have enough range to reach Hill on the helicarrier," Nick informed him.

"In that case, I'll be back in a moment," Clint told them going into the bathroom for some privacy. The others would take care of keeping Fury from the Cap while he was gone should it be necessary.

"Kraft, Wilkins, and Frampton won't be bothering the Cap anymore. The Hulk took care of them," he decided it was better to tell them, "and terrified out of their minds all the staff Kraft had working for him on board the helicarrier."

"We know." At Fury's surprised look Tony explained. "The Big Guy himself told us. Well, he actually told the Cap he did not have to worry about them, but we all heard."

Nick narrowed his eye, "The Hulk actually spoke to the Cap and informed him what he did to those motherfuckers?"

He was having a hard time understanding the fact the Hulk was so... protective of the Cap, and... communicative. But perhaps the green monster's words had reminded Rogers of being raped, even if it was to tell him the bastards were gone, and they were the reason why the Captain went berserk on the Leviathan.

"He broke." Which to be truthful Nick was kind of expecting to happen sooner rather than later.

"He did," Bruce confirmed. "I don't know why, but the Other Guy is very fond of Steve, and so far Steve's the only person he's willing to not only listen to, but protect as well." Well, that was not entirely correct, as the Other Guy would listen to and protect Betty too, but that was something Fury did not need to know.

"So the green asshole told him after the battle, and the Cap broke," he said slowly.

"No, he did break, but the Hulk told him before the battle," Tony corrected. "You can see just what type of man Steve is by the fact he kept himself together long enough to do his duty." And he could not help but look impressed, look which was echoed by his fellow Avengers.

"He actually looked relieved, and grateful when the Hulk told him he offed those bastards," Clint said coming out of the bathroom. He had secured a quinjet to be stationed at Stark Tower for their use.

Nick raised an eyebrow at that piece of information. "So you all are aware of what Kraft did to him?" he asked and received curt nods in return. "Romanoff and Thor were with me when I issued the order for Kraft and his... minions to be detained, and I know you would tell Barton," he said to her, "but I have to wonder how you and doctor Banner found out about them, Stark?" He narrowed his eye at the billionaire. He suspected Stark had hacked their servers and obtained the information from there, but confirmation would be a bonus.

"There was a high quality CCTV camera in that room, Fury. It recorded everything," he snarled with barely contained anger. On the bed Steve gasped and whimpered.

_Steve: /You saw? You actually saw what he did to me? You saw how weak—\_ he began only to be interrupted by the older technopath

_Tony: /No, Steve don't go there,\_ he advised the kid.

_Steve: /—I was?\_ he went on ignoring Tony. _/I couldn't escape, I couldn't... I couldn't fight them!\_

_Tony: /You are NOT weak!\_ he stressed, his tone firm, _/it's not your fault you were not able to fight them. You're blameless, Steve,\_ he said with complete conviction in his mental tone. Technopaths could not lie to each other when communicating mentally, and he was hoping knowing he was not lying would help Steve. _/Believe me, you did nothing wrong, kid, and there's nothing to be ashamed of.\_

_Tony: /It's them who were at fault, them who were the beasts. It's not your fault at all! There's nothing you could have done against that paralyzing pen. Believe me, I know. Not only did I design the thing for the army, it was used against me to steal the Arc Reactor while I had it in my chest. \_

_Tony: /There were only a few prototypes of that pen ever made, and I thought they had all been destroyed since it was rejected by the Pentagon, but they keep popping about.\_ Stane must have stolen some of them, and perhaps included them in his double deals. Because he could not think of any other way those pens would still be around.

_Steve: /You made that thing? Why? Why would you make such a horrible thing?\_ he asked aghast.

_Tony: /I made it to save lives Steve! It was supposed to be used to avoid gunfights, and to protect hostages during kidnapping situations. But people have been misusing it, and perhaps that's the reason why it was not approved. I'm really sorry it was used on you Steve, I really am.\_ His mental voice was coated with regret.

_Steve: /I see... much like my own weapons and what SHIELD planned to do with them.\_

_Tony: /Yeah kid. I really need to know where that bastard got the paralyzing pen, unfortunately the Big Guy killed him before we could question him.\_ This conversation took only seconds, so there was no visible lag went he went back to demand explanations from the cyclops.

"What's wrong with your people, Fury? Aren't there security personnel watching the cameras? Those bastards kept the Cap for over twelve hours! How—" At his words Fury actually startled and recoiled as if he had been punched in the gut.

"WHAT?" Nick could not help to exclaim in complete disbelief. "Twelve fucking hours?" It should not have been possible! Someone should have noticed! There clearly were more people involved, and unfortunately the Hulk killed Kraft.

"—come no one noticed what was happening in detention block 5DZ?" Tony went on ignoring Fury's outburst. "And by the way, don't bother looking for the video. JARVIS deleted it from your system along with any copies in existence, including the backups.

"He made sure not even your best I.T. people would be able to recover it. JARVIS guards the only remaining copy"—there was no more secure place for it, his AI would keep it safe—"which is only waiting for Steve to tell me what he wants to do with it."

_Tony: /Do you want me to tell him what else they did besides collecting samples and torturing you?\_ he asked. They all knew, but it was now up to Steve to decide who else would, and how much, specially since those who hurt him were already dead.

_Steve: /I think he knows, or at least strongly suspects it,\_ he said shuddering a little.

Natasha immediately began telling him soothing words and held him a bit tighter. Steve sighed, but soaked up the comfort, he had been so long without it. Bucky was a very good friend, but he was not that good at comforting people. He really sucked at it to be truthful—not that he was any better—but Bucky had tried, and in the end it was what mattered.

_Tony: /Yes he probably does... That animal, Wilkins was a sick pervert. But he was also an idiot, he chose to taunt Agent and Romanoff, and Agent,\_ he could not hide the pain thinking about Coulson caused. His death was too recent, and he was… fond of the agent. _/was your number one fan. He did not let anyone bad mouth you.\_ Steve whimpered, and Tony felt how ashamed the kid felt. He sighed and gave him another mental hug.

_Tony: /No need to feel ashamed Kid, it's not your fault,\_ he repeated, and would keep doing it until Steve believed it. _/Believe me, I know, I've been through that as well._

_Tony: /Now, let me tell you Romanoff is one woman I'm NEVER pissing off.\_ He mentally shuddered. _/She castrated Wilkins in a very painful way. So, your call, do I tell Fury if he asks?\_

_Steve: /You can tell him if he does,\_ he agreed.

"Stark, you have no right to remove evidence from our mainframe," Nick snapped at the meddling billionaire.

The fact Stark chose to remove the video, and do so in such a thorough manner was very telling. The video was clearly worse than Wilkins hinted at. The fucking annoyance had the gall to just shrug.

"I will need a copy of that video—"

"No you don't," Tony said firmly. "The fucking bastards are dead, they mention no one else besides the three of them. So you don't need it as evidence.

"If you want to know what happened during the time the motherfucker"—he snarled the word—"had Steve I can tell you, he agreed to that much. But Bruce and I are already two people too many who saw what happened."

He glared at the stubborn billionaire, although he had to admit being surprised at how protective of Rogers he was. Nick had not expected it, in fact, he thought the opposite would happen. He did know Howard's parenting left much to be desired, and he had compared his son to Rogers often. Howard always found his son to be lacking.

"Very well, I want a report, in writing Stark, of the video contents. It must be annexed to the case files to justify detaining the assholes, their initial confessions are not enough." He kept glaring.

"Only if Steve agrees to it," he told Fury mulishly, knowing well the one eyed spy was not going to be happy with his response.

"Very well," Nick practically growled.

Fuck, but Stark was in protective mode, something Nick knew so far not even Potts, or Rhodes, had ever elicited before. At least not to the extent the genius was showing at the moment.

Nick knew Stark was a whole different magnitude of dangerous from Romanoff or Barton, exponentially capable of causing more damage to SHIELD than his two best spies together should he ever deemed them his enemies. So far they had managed to coexist and cooperate, albeit grudgingly on both their parts.

Unfortunately for SHIELD, the infuriating asshole was acting worse than an overprotective parent on high alert. Something Nick suspected would happen if the idiot ever reproduced. He knew Stark would do his best not to be such a bad parent as Howard had been.

Some mental calculations led to the shocking revelation that even if Rogers was indeed twenty-six years old—which Nick was seriously doubting since he found the birth certificate—Stark was actually old enough to have spawned a young man Rogers' age.

The asshole had been rather precocious and active since he was fourteen. But the least SHIELD, well the world actually, needed was Stark acting like Captain America's surrogate helicopter parent. Which in his case the helicopter part might be quite literal. Or worse, instead of helicopters there might be robotic Iron Man suits. He suppressed a shudder at the thought.

"Now, I'll send a team to transport Rogers to one of our medical faci..."

"Over my dead body!"

"Fuck no!"

"Don't even think about it!"

"No way in hell!"

"The Son of Rogers isn't going anywhere!"

_Tony: /JARVIS, I urgently need a Power of Attorney where Steve grants me the right to make medical decisions in his place. Ask Steve to mentally sign it once it's done. Then send it to my phone, modify the date and time to match yesterday's about an hour before the portal opened.\_

_JARVIS: /Right away, Sir. Do you want me to contact Mister Rutherford so he has a copy in his archives, and ask him to validate it for you?\_

_Tony: /Do so J, tell him I need for him to confirm the time and date of the document.\_

Nick actually had to take a step back at their response. All five were practically up in arms. The men had arranged themselves protectively around the bed, and Natasha... Hell Natasha had wrapped herself around a visibly shaking Rogers—who had curled up into a small ball—protecting any vulnerable areas with her own body.

The Cap's response left him shaken, and he could not understand it. Because Nick could actually hear very soft whimpers coming from the younger man, letting him know the Captain had probably been awake for some time, and had been listening to the conversation.

Rogers clearly still needed medical attention, so why would they refuse it? But above all, the Cap's reaction left him disheartened. He was truly broken, Nick had hoped the Leviathan might have been just something to cope, but to actually tremble at the mention of going to medical?

For her part Natasha was whispering in French to Steve, trying to reassure him. They were not going to let anyone take him back to SHIELD, specially not to medical. He was safe, they would protect him. She would shoot Fury if she had to.

Nick could only stare because Romanoff had produced a gun from fuck knows where, which she had trained right between his eyes. He knew she rarely missed at such close range. "What the fuck? Why are you against Rogers getting help?" He demanded trying to hide how surprised and concerned he was by their response.

"Kraft was a medical doctor besides being a biochemist, Director," Clint reminded the man in a very cold, and hard tone of voice.

"He was not the only one obsessed with recreating Project Rebirth at SHIELD," Natasha added, "or did you forget the reason why Coulson"—and his breath hitched a little, at the mention of his handler and friend, Natasha told him last night what happened to him—"was stationed in his room while he was unconscious?"

"If you think we're going to allow any of them another go at Steve you're insane," Bruce told him.

"The SHIELD has already done much harm to the Captain, it will not be allowed to continue," Thor boomed as he glared at the Director.

"I have a Power of Attorney, signed by Steve, granting me the right to make any medical decisions for him if he's not able, Fury," Tony told the one eyed spy.

JARVIS had just informed him he already had the document drafted, and ready to be signed. At the moment the AI was letting Steve read it. Tony knew the kid would sign it. As soon as it was done JARVIS would email it to Rutherford.

A mental signature could replicate one made with a stylus on any electronic document. The others were staring at him shocked at this, and he was sure they were going to ask when they had the time for something like that.

"You have a WHAT?" Nick actually gaped at hearing Stark's words.

"You heard, Fury, Steve granted me the right to make decisions for him if he's incapacitated..."

"YOU?" He asked bewildered. "Don't make me laugh, Stark. Why would he give you that power? Hell, when did you have the time to get something like that?"

"Yes me. He asked me if I would help him in this capacity back on the helicarrier, before we left for New York," Tony told them as his mind was making things up in a hurry. At least to his ears it did sound plausible. A quick look at Bruce reassured him. The physicist gave him a tiny nod, and a barely there smile. "We were going into a fight, and he had no one to ensure his well being if something happened to him which left Steve unable to decide for himself.

"He DOES NOT trust SHIELD, Nick," Tony stressed. "But specially Steve does not trust your medical personnel will treat him humanely," his words made the one eyed spy start and actually show some shock. "Frankly neither do we, and they earned the distrust.

"Your so called 'doctors and scientists' don't see him as a human being. To them, Captain America is a laboratory experiment they believed themselves entitled to," Fury tried to protest. "Don't even try to deny it, we all know that's true.

"Kraft was not the only unscrupulous psycho you have in your science and medical labs. I'm certain you still have a bunch of them around. So as the person to whom Steve entrusted with his well being, I say he stays here, where he is safe. My personal doctors, and medical staff, are quite capable of taking care of him.

"They are the best you will find, they signed confidentiality contracts, but above all, they will NOT attempt to take samples from him, and I can be certain of that because JARVIS monitors everything in the tower. Anyone tries anything against Steve, and he will know. He will react accordingly should it be necessary."

"While I'm no medical doctor, I do know enough to attest to these people's skills," Bruce said. He had learned much about medicine since he began working on the Super Soldier Serum, and later while he was on the run.

"There is absolutely no need to send the Cap into hostile territory again, which will only make it harder for him to properly heal. Being stressed only makes things worse," Clint pointed out.

"Barton, what the fuck are you talking about?" Nick stared at the archer not understanding where he was going.

"Are you all really that stupid... Sir?"—he added the last as an after thought, which he knew would anger Fury—"Did you never listen to... To Coulson fanboying about Captain America? Or read his dossier? Hell, this is even in the biographies and the comics! The Cap HAS. ENHANCED. SENSES," Clint stressed. "His hearing included.

"You left him in one of SHIELD's safe houses, surrounded by SHIELD agents who probably saw nothing wrong with reporting from within their apartments," Clint pointed out and Fury had the grace to look slightly abashed. "I'm sure he found out from them there were electronic bugs at his place, and from what Natasha told me, he's smart enough to have found out what they were. Tell me I'm wrong?"

"No, he actually developed quite the skill at disabling the things," Nick admitted. "Some he simply disconnected, others he fried somehow."

"And that told your 'amazingly' capable spies nothing?" Tony scoffed. Fury clearly chose not to respond, but Legolas was on a roll, so he went on ranting.

_Tony: /Good job disabling those bugs, Steve, and don't worry we'll keep you safe.\_ He could feel the kid was trying to get himself together. That was a good sign.

"The Captain was surrounded, Director, as well as in what he could only consider hostile territory. His every move in his 'supposed' safe place was being watched, AND. HE. KNEW. IT," Clint stressed. "That alone would put anyone in our line of work in survival mode, never mind a soldier just fresh out of war.

"Add to that the fact he happens to find himself in what to him has to be a foreign place"—well they now knew Steve was a time traveller, and quite familiar with their world, but that was something Fury did not need to know—"do you think the Cap actually got a moment to rest, get a proper night of sleep, or allowed himself to grieve for the people and the life he lost?"

The two psychologists who were aware of the Captain's case expected a break down. They were certain it was inevitable, and they were concerned there had not been any signs of it. Instead the young man had been adapting at an astounding rate, although now Nick knew it was in part because Rogers was a genius who could probably compete with Stark and Banner, and could be as much of a pain in his ass as Stark could be.

Someone in survival mode, and with Rogers vaunted stubbornness, as well as strength of character, would push everything aside to the best of their abilities, and adapt so they could escape. They would do anything in their power to avoid breaking, until the threat was dealt with, and they felt safe. But clearly even Rogers had limits.

"Look, I'll have the psychologist see to him once he's at Headquarters," Nick told them hoping it would reassure the team. By the groups' forbidding expressions, he could see his words had the opposite effect.

"What part of not sending the Cap into hostile territory did you not understand, Nicky?" Tony asked with a growl. "He is NOT going back to SHIELD period."

"We are NOT his enemies," Nick stressed.

"The SHIELD's people foul actions bespeak of unfriendly intentions, Son of Fury," Thor chose to speak. "They speak of conspiracy, treachery, insubordination, and disloyalty. The SHIELD has treated one of Midgard's bravest warriors so dishonorably.

"I cannot help but question what the SHIELD's intentions towards my brother in arms are? Your people know not he was found, they know not your Captain America was alive. Only Bruce, the Son of Stark, and myself are not with the SHIELD.

"Had Loki's foul deeds not caused death, destruction, and endangered your people, we would not know either. The Son of Rogers would have had no one to speak on his behalf, no shield brothers and sister to offer protection, and to have his back when he is unable to defend himself.

"How is this any different from being a prisoner, Son of Fury?" His tone was disapproving, and disappointed. "Knowing this, what assurances do we have your rogue people will not attempt to hide and harm him again?"

Thor levelled a very dubious look at the Director, staring down at the midgardian, and looking his most regal and commanding despite being dressed in such informal clothes. He towered above all of them, and used it to his advantage.

"If indeed they were rogue in the first place," he added making it clear he had his suspicions. "Make no mistake, Son of Fury, I Prince Thor, Son of Odin the Allfather, and heir to the throne of Asgard, have placed Steven Son of Rogers as well as the Avengers under my protection." He stood tall, proud, and forbidding. "They have earned my respect as the formidable warriors they are in their own right," he added sparing a slightly sheepish look at each of them. He did not want to undermine their merits. They all looked surprised, but nodded at him in acceptance

"He won't be safe at SHIELD, and you know it, Sir," Natasha spoke from the bed. A bit shocked at Thor's pledge of protection. By his body language she could tell such things were not done lightly where he came from. "But the Cap is well protected here. He has good medical attention as well, and I'm sure Stark will find him a trust worthy therapist to help him if he agrees to see one."

"Captain America has to go back to SHIELD," Nick insisted, "as the replacement for the SSR, he belongs to us..."

"I belong to no one but myself, Director," Steve growled finally getting himself together. He disentangled himself gently from Natasha giving her a tiny smile in thanks, and gingerly sat up to glare at the one eye Master Spy and manipulator.

Pulling himself together had not been easy because the pain of his mother's death, along with everything he had been through was nearly drowning him. But the support and protectiveness of his team mates did help, much more than he initially thought. He was not alone, and they made it clear to him, and to Fury.

They were fighting for him, just like his mother had fought to remain alive—with all she had—so she could ensure his protection. Defending himself was the least he could do to let them know he appreciated their efforts.

"Neither the SSR, SHIELD, nor the Army own me," he said looking the man straight in the eyes. "Doctor Erskine made sure it would be so, and there is a document signed by President Roosevelt guaranteeing the Army, SSR, and any other agency would respect my basic human, and constitutional rights.

"Several historians have seen it, and wrote about it, so it won't be easy to make it disappear. I am a human being Director, not a lab rat, a weapon, a toy, or a... breeding stud"—Steve could not help shuddering at the thought, and Fury had the grace to cringe—"Assuming otherwise means you consider me a slave, and that has been banned since the late 1800s." 

"The Super Soldier Serum..." Nick began only to be interrupted again, which he realized was actually a good thing, or the rest of the Avengers would have murdered him.

"Has been paid in full," Steve stated firmly, and his team mates glowered at Fury. "I paid with my life, Sir."

"You were found alive Rogers, in suspended animation," Nick pointed out and the look on the young man at those words sent chills down his spine.

"Hypothermia is no fun Director, specially not when you are enhanced like I am. It takes a lot of time for it to take hold, long enough for the Super Soldier Serum to heal a couple of bullet holes, and broken bones.

"But once it did, I was unable to move by the time the Valkyrie sunk," his eyes looked haunted. His team mates gasped at hearing his words, and clustered close to him. Natasha held him, and the other all touched him looking horrified.

"You drowned?" Bruce asked in a horrified whisper.

"You were conscious?" Nick asked aghast voicing the question he could see reflected on the others' faces.

"The position your men found me in should have clued everyone of that fact, Sir. I had been piloting the aircraft, that means your people should have found me on the pilot's seat," he pointed out.

"But you were not. You were actually lying down, with the shield close at hand." The young man simply nodded.

"I knew no help was coming, Fury. So I accepted my fate, I did what I had to do, and gave my life for this country and the world, Director. I would do so again without a second thought if it ever came to that. But what I did does not mean I would do so for SHIELD.

"You made me feel like a prisoner as Thor pointed out. Made me feel bullied, and I. HATE. BULLIES," he stressed looking at Fury in the eyes. "You made me realize the world, but specially the human race, has not changed much in nearly seventy years. What's worse, SHIELD does not remind me of the SSR, AT ALL.

"By your actions, and those of your people, SHIELD reminds me more of HYDRA," his words made the Director recoil like he had been punched in the gut. For their part the Avengers all startled. They had not truly seen the similarities until that moment but now they could see them, and it left them all deeply disturbed.

"Why would you say that Rogers? We were founded to protect the Earth, not to overtake it." He stated, because he actually believed his words, and was convinced that was what SHIELD was doing.

Nick did not admit aloud how deeply the young man's words disturbed him. Specially because Rogers had lived when both the SSR and HYDRA had been at their peak. The young Captain knew what he was talking about because he had been there. Because he had experienced both first hand.

"Let's make a list, shall we?" Steve said. "You had the Tesseract and wanted to make weapons, you actually did build several prototypes. HYDRA did that under Schmidt's and Zola's direction.

"You allow amongst your ranks scientists who see nothing wrong with experimenting on human beings without their consent. As Clint mentioned, I was not the only one. Zola did that with the Allied Prisoners of War.

"You, personally, may have treated me decently, but SHIELD as a whole has treated me more like I'm your enemy, not an ally. I was HYDRA's and its leader, the Red Skull, sworn enemy.

"Your World Security Council saw no problem with bombing a city with several million innocent civilians, and which is also the financial heart of the country. They, for some unexplainable reason, chose not to exhaust all other options first. Because, where were the Army, and the Air Force? They could have worked on containment while we tried to stop Loki.

"I crashed a plane full of bombs headed this way, one of them literally had New York City's name on it." The silence in the room was heavy as everyone mulled his words. He let them sink in then added. "I will never be a SHIELD agent, Director. Not after yesterday's nuke."

Nick sighed, and passed a hand over his face. The comparisons were chilling, and he could not deny feeling deeply disturbed; specially because the SSR had actually recruited several HYDRA scientists after the war due to Project Paperclip. Arnim Zola being the most prominent of them.

"Will you consider remaining a member of the Avengers Initiative, and perhaps take on a role similar to Stark's for SHIELD? He is a consultant." He tried to at least keep the young man loosely affiliated with them.

"Yes, I will remain an Avenger. The initiative is different from SHIELD... Perhaps we should not be a part of SHIELD, maybe just allies..." He trailed off. It was just an idea, and it required much thought as well as research before anything came off it.

"You know, Capsicle, that's actually a very interesting idea," Tony mused, and he could see the other Avengers were thoughtful as well. He was surprised Fury had not vetoed it right away. Instead he seemed to be mulling the idea as well.

"Indeed it is," Nick said surprising everyone in the room. "Think about it Cap, discuss it amongst yourselves, and prepare a proposal for me. Sooner rather than later. I will work on something on my side as well." 

If there was anything to the comparison the Captain made between SHIELD and HYDRA, then it was better to keep the Avengers as consultants and not full members of the agency. Just in case some action was needed from people who were not compromised.

Nick knew he would have to start an investigation on Rogers suspicions, but it must not be openly. In fact, it must be kept from anyone at SHIELD with the exception of a very few trusted agents including Hill, and the Avengers. Those agents Hill, Coulson, and himself had personally recruited—unlike the Avengers and Hill, they would not be informed of what they were doing—. It was Rogers who noticed the pattern after all.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Note:** In case you're wondering who said what here's the list.
> 
> 1\. Tony.  
>  2\. Clint.  
>  3\. Natasha.  
>  4\. Bruce.  
>  5\. Thor.


End file.
